Faith in Fate
by whereXtheXlinesXoverlap
Summary: Max and the Flock are back where they started – trying to fulfill Max's destiny to save the world. But when some unexpected characters make a reappearance, will Max succumb to blackmail in order to protect those she loves? Action, betrayal… FAX! RnR?
1. Reverie

**Yola.**

**Glad you've dropped by.**

**No ownage here, by the way. Six flying mutants? Naw, I'm not clever enough to come up with something as awesomesauce as that.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 1: Reverie**

You know all those Disney movies, where little orphan Annie finds a home, and Wendy is reunited with her parents after her adventure in Neverland?

Well, they're a load of crap.

I ought to explain. We were looking for our parents. Again. Kind of figures, doesn't it?

We were in a cave, in the United States (that's about as specific as I get). My brain was completely frazzled after spending even more fruitless hours poring over the documents from Itex. So far, they had not been map codes, and they had not corresponded with words in the Bible. Our only lead had been from a stroke of luck when I happened to see Iggy 's parents on the news, being interviewed about their missing son. I don't think Iggy's gotten over his disastrous "family visit". Even now, his fists are clenched as Angel reads the numbers on a sheet of paper out loud for him. Why is she doing this, you may ask? Because he's blind. And blind people can't see.

Iggy was not the only tense one. I looked over and saw Gazzy staring once again at a picture of himself as a baby that we had found at one of the addresses that corresponded with the Itex papers. He carried it around with him everywhere. I always seemed to forget that he really just was a little kid, and that he and Angel probably needed their parent's love more than any of us.

"Max?" Nudge's voice forced me to snap out of my reverie.

"Mmm?" I replied. But before she could answer, a loud rumble of her stomach gave her away. "You hungry?" It occurred to me that we had actually been here since last night and hadn't had any food for hours.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I suppose I'll just make a quick run to McDonald's. Back in a few."

"I'll come with you."

I started. I hadn't realized that Fang had been sitting right behind me, literally breathing down my neck. He grinned at my startled expression, and yanked me by the hand off the edge of the cliff.

Yeah, that wasn't a typo. Fang really did just yank me off the edge of a cliff.

For those of you who don't regularly keep up with our shenanigans, here's a newsflash: We're birdkids. That's right, folks – we have _wings_. Take a picture. It will last longer.

I'm the oldest – about fourteen. Iggy and Fang are the same age. Nudge is three years younger, at eleven. Gazzy and Angel, the only two blood siblings among us, are eight and six. We were all raised in a lab with DNA that's 98% human, 2% bird. Well, let's just say that 2% makes a big difference, seeing as we can fly. So after Fang committed the homicidal act of pushing me off a cliff, I simply snapped out my wings, and coasted on the warm updraft. Neat how that works, isn't it?

I was once again snapped out of my little dreamland, this time by the sound of Fang's voice. "I've been thinking – we've really hit a dead end. We're no closer on finding our parents. This saving the world crap that the Voice is giving you – would the world even need saving if humans hadn't screwed it up? I say we focus on something else, like finding a place to settle down."

After getting over the initial shock of hearing Fang speak in full sentences, I comprehended what he was saying. The Voice (Yeah, _my_ Voice. My really annoying, idiotic, prophetic, usually always right Voice) had been bugging me about saving the world lately. (What? You don't save the world in your spare time?). Although the Voice could be useful at times, if I ever need pithy quotes, I'll just have Total do the honors.

Meh. Total.

Angel managed to pick up a talking dog on one of our bold escapes from Itex headquarters. Right now he was probably curled up next to her in the cave, dreaming about performing at The Globe (which, sadly, burned down. See? The History Channel works wonders on those who are challenged in the art of… er… knowledge.)

"Max?"

"Mmpphf?"

"I was just saying," Fang rolled his eyes, "what if we tried to find a home? A place to settle down… relax…" He drifted off into his own daydream of pina colodas and hot, practically naked girls on the beach (No, I do not read minds. That's Angel. I just tend to be very… insightful). This time, I had to wave my hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"You know what, Fang? I think that's a really good idea." Wait a second. Those words were not supposed to come out of my mouth.

"You do?"

Well, now I couldn't reverse the damage, so I continued on. "Yeah. I think the younger kids need a break from all this running around. Even I think it's getting a little stale." A smile played at the corner of Fang's lips – which was very rare, I'll assure you. "Why don't we talk to the kids, see what they think?" Fang grinned – a full-out, teeth showing, very _attractive_ grin. Momentarily, I forgot to flap as his smile made my brain go fuzzy. I dropped down a few feet, and Fang reached down his hand to gently pull my back up to his height.

"Sounds like a plan."

**RnR?**


	2. Chemical

**So I look on the package of some lotion that I got at the store, and it says: **_**Directions: Use only as directed. **_**And that is…? It reminded me of those things people put in their profiles that record sayings on products, such as **_**Do not iron clothes on body.**_** and (on the bottom of a container) **_**Do not turn container upside down.**_

**Those always make me shake my head and ponder the stupidity of large companies.**

**Chapter 2: Chemical**

Fang and I arrived at McDonalds and were poring over their menu, which was, quite frankly, indecent. My eyes were bombarded by juicy burgers, chemicalish fries, and anorexic waitresses popping up to the cash register to ask, in a plasticy voice, what we would like to order. I gave the blonde a sickly sweet smile and was about to order when Fang stepped up beside me. The blonde's eyes widened, and she batted her eyelashes and tossed her hair. Nudging Fang, I made discreet barfing motions, but to my surprise, he didn't take any notice. He smoothed back his hair in a most un-Fang-like way, and ordered a wide assortment of burgers, salads, sandwiches, etc.

"Is that all for today?" The waitress asked.  
"Yes, that's all." I said coldly, though I wasn't really sure why.

"Your total is $17.43. Your order will be right up." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. That was when I clamped my hand on Fang's shoulder, spun him around before he could reply, and steered him directly out the front door.

"Max! What the hell was that for?"

I didn't reply, but ran to a deserted area behind the store, snapped out my wings, and took off. Once I was I good fifty feet up into the air, I looked down with my raptor vision to see Fang shaking his head as though puzzled, and then quickly heading back into the store to grab our order.

I wasn't sure why I was so angry – Fang was like a brother to me. The only feelings I had for him were completely brother–sister related… weren't they? But when I had seen him kissing Lissa as though she were the eighth wonder of the world… and now flirting with that waitress… Before I knew it, I was speeding through the air at 250 miles per hour, my hair streaming in a tangled mess behind me and my wings slicing through the wind. Lately, whenever I was feeling a strong emotion, my new skill would take over and I would be flying at insane speeds that the rest of the flock couldn't reach even in a steep downward dive. Looks like that was what was happening now – but what emotion was I feeling? I couldn't exactly place it. Was it annoyance? Frustration? Jealousy? _Love_? I quickly shut that thought out of my mind. I was Maximum Ride. I was who the flock worshipped as their O Wonderful, Fearless Leader. I couldn't show weakness. I couldn't be in love.

Finally, I figured that I had better slow down, otherwise I'd travel halfway across the country rather than the short distance from McDonald's to our cave. After getting my bearings, I realized that I had actually overshot by a couple miles, so I doubled back and reached the cave. Plastering on a fake smile for the kids, I briskly walked inside, grabbed a few of the Itex papers to look at, and huddled in a secluded corner where I couldn't be bothered. The papers were really just a cover-up – right now I just needed some time to sit in quiet and think. But unfortunately, I wouldn't be granted that simple pleasure, because just then, Fang arrived with the food and was greeted with a chorus of hungry moans.

I didn't blame them – although it was probably filled with chemicals, the smell of the food was overwhelming. I have survived torture at the hands of scientists. I have fought five fully grown adults at a time in combat. I will dislocate an Erasers shoulder without a second thought. I will hold a grudge for years without showing any weakness. But there was one think that I was a sucker for: food. So I admit, when I smelled those chemical fries, I moaned in pleasure. Although I refused to talk to Fang, I grudgingly took my meal from his hands and scarfed it down in seconds. Then I returned to my corner to ponder my newfound deep feelings.

After a few minutes, I was joined by a babbling Nudge, who was going on about some hot guy she saw on American Idol. When she realized I wasn't engaging in the conversation, she looked at me and read my expression immediately.

"Max, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Are you sure you don't, you know, want to talk about anything?"

I smiled at her. She could really be very compassionate and motherly when she wasn't beating up Erasers. "No, not really."

"You know, Max, you should really read _Girl's Life_. They list the 15 signs that tell you that a person is crushing on someone. Then you might be better at lying about your emotions. Because right now, you're displaying every one of the 15 signs."

"Wha…?"

"I've trained myself to recognize these things. 1)They appear to be thinking about something else all the time. 2) They won't let anyone talk to them about what they're feeling. 3) They like to be alone a lot. 4) The don't - "

"Nudge." She was running on again.

"Sorry."

I laughed, but the look on her face brought me back to reality. It was true – she really could see right through my calm façade.

"Wow – you must study that magazine incessantly."

"Well, let's just say that if I studied textbooks like I studied fashion magazines, I'd be a straight-A student. But seriously… who is it?"

"Who's what?"

"Who do you like?" She cried in exasperation. I clamped my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. I really didn't need Iggy hearing us and joining our conversation. Speak of the devil…

"Tell me, or I'm telling Iggy you're in love!" Nudge cried triumphantly, knowing that her blackmail had sealed the deal.

"No fair. And I'm not in love!" I pouted. But I knew that there was no getting out of this now.

"You have 10 seconds to tell me. 10… 9… 8…"

"Fine."

"Well?"

"I shfink dats I kinda shlike fangish," I said, hiding my face under my arm so that it muffled the words.

"Um… sorry? Even I didn't catch that, and I'm the queen of talking at super-speed."

I looked up at her slowly. "Fang," I whispered, horrified that my secret was out.

"Aha!" Nudge pumped her fist in victory.

"You. Cannot. Tell. Anyone. Or I will murder you in your sleep," I hissed, once again clamping my hand over her mouth and putting her into a headlock.

"Okay, okay, fine!" She laughed, wriggling out of my grasp. "But I will find a way to make _you _tell him!"

Angel stuck her head in at that moment and said, "Iggy started a fire – do you guys want s'mores?"

"S'MORE'S!" Nudge cried blissfully, and ran out towards the others. I took Angel's hand and followed them, and we all enjoyed mushy marshmallow-and-chocolate-and-graham-cracker confections. Unfortunately, that distraction didn't prevent me from realizing the threat in Nudge's previous statement. I was doomed.


	3. Ashamed

**My friends, while discussing where to find the fruit in their house:**

"**We just keep the bananas and apples in a covered up in the in the fridge."**

"**You keep your apples covered up? I keep my apples out in the open!"**

**The same friend, while paying at the cash register:**

"**Come on, hurry up! We want to go to the bookstore."**

"**Hang on just a second. He's checking me out. No, that's not what I meant! He's checking out my **_**items**_**. NO! That's not what I meant either! Get your head out of the gutter!"**

**Oh, how I love my stupid, immature friends.**

**Chapter 3: Ashamed**

The next morning, after a delicious breakfast of Ho-Ho's cooked over the fire (by the way, make sure you don't overcook them. Mine started smoking, and then all the frosting melted away and the inside turned rock solid. It was disgusting). Well anyways, after our breakfast of champions, I made an announcement. "Ok – time for a Flock meeting, guys." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Gazzy and Nudge exchange alarmed glances – rarely did we discuss much or make any plans, rather than which we were going to hide in next – a cave or a forest. "I feel, and Fang agrees," I started, "that we aren't really getting anywhere with our search for parents and our saving the world mission. I think we deserve a little break, don't you?" I was greeted with eager nods and murmurs of consent. "I'm not really an expert at this whole relaxed and laid back thing," I said truthfully, as Iggy sniggered and Gazzy rolled his eyes. " So I need your help. What do you guys think we should do?" This time, their replies were not so quiet. Everyone shouted out their ideas, which ranged from going to Disney World (again? The first time was a disaster) to traveling to Australia to live with the kangaroos (come again?). The only one who wasn't babbling about their dream vacation was Angel, who was raising her hand with a calm expression on her face. "How about you, Ange? What do you think?"

"I think we should go on a cruise."

"Well, sweetie," I started, not knowing how to break it to her that there was no way in_ hell _that we were going on a cruise, when I was interrupted by excited shouts and squeals of delight.

"A cruise! OMG that would be SO fun! They would have a water park and fancy meals and deluxe suites and hot boys –" I cut Nudge off before she could get any farther.

"Guys –"

"And they would have cute little shops and places to get your nails done-" Angel added.

"Guys –"

"And we could always jump of the deck and go for a fly –" Iggy put in.

"GUYS!" I cried in exasperation. "There is absolutely NO way –"

"I think it would be great."

I turned around in shock. Fang had just completely outright disagreed with me. It's not that I always have to have my way (well, actually I kind of do…), but Fang was usually on my side. He was someone who I could always trust to make a logical decision. And this was most definitely _not_ logical.

"Fang…"

"Think about it, Max. We all agreed that we need a little bit of a break. What better way to relax than to go for a cruise? We have the money – you still have that credit card, right? There would be something for everyone. Nudge and Angel could shop, Gazzy and Iggy could swim…. And Iggy's right. Anytime we needed to stretch our wings, we could just hop of the deck and fly around. It's perfect.

"So I say we take a vote. All in favor of going on a cruise, say 'aye'."

No one said 'aye'. I looked around in relief, only to see that the rest of the Flock's mouths were hanging open in shock, after hearing Fang make such a long speech.

"All in favor _say 'aye',_" Fang said again, a little annoyed. This time, to my disappointment, there was a chorus of 'ayes' and 'oh yeahs'. I folded my arms.

"All opposed say 'nay'."

"Nay," I said defiantly. Nudge frowned.

"Come on, Max. It'll be so much fun!"

"Nay."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyways – majority rules. Sorry, Max," Iggy said, with a disappointing lack of sympathy. I groaned in defeat and tromped back to my little corner in the cave. A few minutes later, a little voice said in my head, _Don't worry, Max. It's going to be fun! _Is this _the _Voice, the one I talked about earlier, you may ask? No. _This _voice is Angel, intruding on my thoughts. Oh, right, about that – we all have special "abilities." (Although most people wouldn't say being able to encase yourself in a green bubble of fart juices is an admirable ability). Angel had the most of us all – she could breathe underwater, talk to fish, read minds, and even control them. Right now, she was once again holding one of her little conversations inside my head.

_I know, Angel. It's a really nice idea. I'm just a little… worried._

_ About what?_

_ About being around so many people, all day, 24/7._

_ It will be fine, _Angel reassured me. _If they notice something weird about us, I can just make them forget – remember?_

Well wasn't _that_ reassuring.

_Yeah, I know, sweetie. Thanks. Why don't you, Gaz, Nudge, and Ig go for a fly? I just want to talk to Fang for a bit._

_ Sure, but don't be too hard on him. He's trying to make everyone happy, just like you._

_ Thanks, Ange. Have fun._

After they were all gone, their whooping voices lost in the wind, I cornered Fang. "I can't _believe_ you! Think about how dangerous this is going to be! We are going to be around people all the time! Why do you have to go and make a decision like that without even considering what I think?"

"Max. You need to just calm down. Think about it. We'll be fine. We can just fly away if we ever are in a tricky situation. The kids will love it. It will give us a chance to relax. You really need to do that more often, Max," He was whispering now, much too close to my face. "Just relax, Max…" His hand smoothed my hair, and I looked down, ashamed. Just at that moment, though, Gazzy barged in.

"Come join us, guys! The air feels great! And Nudge said – wait… What are you guys doing?"

I froze. Fang's hand was still in my hair, and he pulled it away quickly. I inched away from him and smiled reassuringly at Gazzy. "Nothing, sweetie. We'll be right out." And with that, I sprinted towards the edge of the cave without a backward glance, and snapped out my wings.

. . .

The rest of the week went on in the same fashion – we ate meals, went for long flights, went down to the city every once in a while to get food and other necessities. It wasn't till Saturday that we progressed any further on our vacation idea.

"Max, come look at this," Fang said to me one evening while he was at the laptop. Crouching behind him, I saw that he had been researching cruise lines. "I found this cruise ship called the Royal Caribbean. They have over 300 ports, but I looked at the locations and saw that since we are going in early summer, a Caribbean cruise would be the best. The ship called Freedom of the Seas departs from Port Canaveral, Florida, which wouldn't be too hard to get to from here. Prices aren't too bad, as far as cruise ships go, either. They have swimming, rock-climbing, spas, and lots of other stuff that I'm sure the kids would love. What do you think?"

I took a couple of deep breaths and massaged my forehead. Then, taking a giant leap of faith, I said, "Go for it."

Fang smiled and sat down next to me against the wall of the cave. Throwing an arm loosely around my shoulders, he said quietly, "You know, the kids do really appreciate all the sacrifices you make for them." Sacrifices? You have no idea, buddy, I thought. Fang spoke again, in a gentle voice, "It must be really hard, being you."

Yeah.

I guess it is.


	4. Need

**Hola…**

**Short, fun chapter for you guys today. (Don't think I'm slacking off. I just thought I needed a little more 'guy time' in this story – though goodness knows I'm not an expert at writing about it. So if there are any male readers… tell me if this is good, or way off the mark.) Well anyways, enjoy.**

**Chapter 4: Need**

Fang paced across the room, running his hands through his shaggy black hair. Near the edge of the cave, Iggy was cooing over a smoking piece of shrapnel, trying to coax it into setting fire. The girls and Gazzy had gone down to Walmart, seeing as they were all in dire need of some new clothes.

"Just face it, man – you're in love," Iggy said mildly.

"Shut up, I'm trying to think."

"Stop 'thinking' and just accept it."

"Shut _up_, I said."

"Woah, man, I'm just trying to help."

"I know," Fang muttered. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do. I can never seem to please her. Whenever I try to help, she either ends up screaming at me, in tears, or both."

"Well, you know what the solution is, then, don't you?"

"What?"

"Take her to see the midnight premiere of Eclipse."

"You _idiot_!" Fang managed to whack him on the arm, before he scrambled out of reach.

"You know what girls are suckers for?" Iggy snickered. "Hot guys. So, when you take her to see Eclipse, and Taylor Lautner rips his shirt off, she'll _need_ to kiss him, right then and there. You hop in front of her – you have black hair and dark skin – and she'll think you're the one! And she'll fall hopelessly in love with you, and you're problems will be solved!"

"You crazy sexist _pig_!" Fang launched himself at Iggy, tackling him to the ground.

Iggy wriggled out of his grasp, holding his hands up in surrender. "You know, they might even be showing the midnight premiere on the cruise, ya think?"


	5. Cooties

**I made brownies today…**

**… **

**Heehee.**

**Chapter 5: Cooties**

Fang got us tickets for the cruise (thanks to that handy dandy credit card), and we were finally on our way. Although I refused to admit it to the others, even _I _was excited. And you know me. I usually don't get too excited for things like this.

_We're going on a CRUISE, CRUISE, CRUISE! _

_How about YOU, YOU, YOU?_

_You can come TOO,TOO, TOO!_

_We're going on a CRUISE, CRUISE, CRUISE!_

Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge had modified the words to an old children's song, and were now belting them out at the top of their lungs as we flew through the crisp morning air.

"Guys! Enough!" I finally snapped. I was losing my patience, and I have the patience of a freaking _saint_.

We were approaching Port Canaveral, after a long 6-hour flight. Wearily, we landed behind a deserted vacation home and decided to walk the rest of the way so we wouldn't stand out. But what about our suitcases, the average cruise-goer would ask? Well, we have been on the run for so long that, let's just say, we've learned how to consolidate. Each of us carried a back pack slung across our shoulders, and Angel had Total on a leash so as not to look conspicuous. Who knew cruises were dog-friendly? The man collecting tickets raised his eyebrows at our lack of luggage and the fact that six shabby kids were about to board a luxury cruise ship, but he didn't say anything. Smart move on his part.

We had to go through a bunch of security – I won't bore you with the details. I will tell you, though: never carry even a small Swiss Army knife onto a cruise ship – the employees will confiscate it without a second glance. Gazzy and Iggy reluctantly emptied their pockets, which contained bits of burned eraser, some parchment paper, and a small circular object that looked suspiciously like the makings of a bomb. I knew that they had tons more hidden in random places, but thank goodness the security guard didn't check the inside of Gazzy's socks. A) He would have found things much worse than charred eraser, but B) He would probably pass out from the stench before he could even tell what he was looking at. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two pyromaniacs bump knuckles as we walked away from the security area. Obviously, the security guards hadn't confiscated anything of any importance. Which meant that I would have to. Brilliant.

Angel skipped along beside me, swinging my hand, an anticipating smile on her face. I knew she was enjoying this – they all were. Fang was right. They really did deserve a break. And if I had to spend thousands of dollars to bring smiles to those faces that had endured so much, well, I would do it. Even if it wasn't my own money that I was actually spending.

"Thanks, Max," Angel said out of the blue.

"Thanks for what, hon?"

"Just for bringing us here, and letting down your guard a bit so we can relax for awhile. I know it's hard."

"Aw, you're welcome, Ange. You guys deserve it."

She gave me a sweet smile and ran to join Nudge. I had to do some thinking about Angel. What was I going to do with her? She was so smart for a six year old, but she had many faces. Not all of which were angelic. Her, well, _mutations_, were making me a bit nervous, too. Who knows – one day, you sprout gills and talk to fish, the next day your wings are replaced by _fins, _or something else ridiculous like that? The idea wasn't impossible, and that scared me.

Fang came up behind me, shifting his back pack from one shoulder to the other. "You okay?" he asked. I was again surprised by how well he knew me. He could read me like a book.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff," I muttered evasively.

He rolled his eyes. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Good."

At that moment, our conversation was halted when we were jumbled into a crowd of excited vacationers. My claustrophobia assaulted me, and I felt like I was being squashed under the stampede of people. We were herded onto the deck of the ship, and I grabbed Gazzy and Angel's hands tightly so I wouldn't lose them.

Guys in formal-looking uniforms split the mob into two: one direction led to a guided tour of the ship, the other led straight to our cabins. I steered the Flock the second way – we would have time to get our bearings later. Right now I just wanted to get _away_ from all these people. We headed down a large hallway, and passed the massive pool, a mini-golf course, and the dining hall. Finally, we arrived at our room – number 207. Opening the door revealed a very large living space, which had a hallway that led to three small rooms, each containing a bed. Nudge's eyes were the size of saucers as she whipped her head around very quickly, trying to take everything in at once. Angel grabbed Nudge's hand and said, "I'm sharing a room with you. I don't want to sleep in the same room as boys and get their cooties." Nudge nodded knowingly, and the two tramped off to the room on the far right. Iggy gave the Gasman a little shove and cried, "I call the closet!" Which left Fang and I. To share a room. With one bed.

"Damn," I said loudly, and stalked off to our room.

Fang followed with an annoying grin on his face. "Here, let me carry that for you," he said, chuckling.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?


	6. Distracted

**Ok, so I am pretty much winging it with the cruise thing.**

**Seeing as I have never been on a cruise in my life, I have no idea what I'm doing.**

**So, for those of you who have, or who know what it's like, you know what I want…. RnR!**

**I will give you some virtual chocolate chip cookies… made by Dr. M…**

**Chapter 6: Distracted**

That night, after a delicious dinner of lobster bisque, we decided to try out the pool. We all wore normal swimsuits, but had to wear windbreakers over our backs so our wings weren't noticeable. We got some pretty weird looks, but then again – since when do I care what other people think?

I had warned Angel beforehand not to spend too much time underwater. Although she _did_ have gills, you know us – our number one priority is to not attract attention. I was pretty sure that all of my words had gone in one ear and right out the other, but I can't say I didn't try.

Nudge had wrestled me into a string bikini as we were about to leave, ignoring my angry protests. I self-consciously hiked it up as a group of teenage guys walked past, longing for my one-piece Speedo sitting dejectedly on the bed in the cabin.

When we arrived at the pool, Gazzy and Iggy organized a splash-fight fiasco, which involved very large buckets and 6 hyper birdkids. The life guard near us looked a bit disoriented, like he wanted to tell us to stop but something was holding it back. I quickly shut out all thoughts of world-domination floating around inside my head – I didn't need to give Angel any more ideas about how to abuse her power.

After an hour of romping around in the pool, I was beat, so I made my way over to the hot tub. Leaning my head against the edge, I closed my eyes and tried to relax, which we all know I'm _very_ good at.

"What's up?"

I shrieked and jumped about ten feet into the air. Fang had (once again) come up behind me without my noticing, and he had scared me out of my wits.

I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm my rapid breathing. "Not much. Enjoying your 'relaxing cruise'?"

"Mmm hmm."

"It's been better than I expected so far. I mean, our cabin is huge, the food was delicious… those brownies that they served for desert were amazing. And this pool is really nice; I can tell the kids are having a really great time…"

At that moment, I realized two things. 1) I was starting to sound like Nudge, and 2) Fang wasn't really looking me in the eye. He seemed a bit… distracted. I followed his gaze… wait a second. He wasn't – no, it couldn't be… Was he looking at… at my –

I was going to _kill_ Nudge for making me wear a freaking bikini.

"Fang?" I waved my hand in front of his face. His eyes slanted upward, than quickly flicked down, as if he wanted to keep looking. "Fa-ang?"

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

"Never mind."

. . .

A half hour later, we tromped back to our room, dripping and water-logged. I tucked the little ones into bed, and hopped in the shower, while Iggy and Fang sprawled on the couch to watch American Idol. With the hot water beating down on my head, I wondered, a bit nervously, what we were going to do next. Sure, this cruise had been a blast so far, but we were only stalling our time. I knew that deep down, I would never rest until I had accomplished my mission and actually saved the world. That thought preoccupied me for a while, until I heard a loud banging on the door. Fang.

"Are you almost done in there?"

"Yeah. Be right out."

Then, in horror, I realized that I hadn't brought any clothes in the bathroom to change into. Which meant that A) I'd have to ask Fang to get my clothes out of my backpack for me, or B) I would have to walk out clad in nothing but a towel. Both options were looking grim.

"Hurry up!" Fang pounded on the door impatiently.

"Coming!" I squeaked.

Mortified, I wrapped my towel around me, twisted the doorknob, and skedaddled right out of there. I discreetly looked behind me to see Fang staring, open-mouthed, scratching his head in puzzlement. Oh, the joys of teenage adolescence.

I changed, hopped into bed, and pulled up the covers around me. A few minutes later, I heard the rustle of sheets as Fang slipped in next to me. I edged towards the side of the bed, away from him.

"Max?"

"Mmm?"

Fang slid closer to me, and tentatively rubbed my back in between my wings. I stiffened at first, but then sighed in pleasure. Rolling around, I looked in his eyes, and their depth startled me.

"Max, I –"

But suddenly, his lips were on mine, and I never knew how he intended to finish that sentence. His callused hand slid up my back, tangled in my hair, and though I was surprised at first, I kissed him back enthusiastically, holding him in my arms, my hands tenderly cupping his cheeks. I don't know how long we stayed in that position, but it felt like a million years had gone by in the span of a couple seconds. Eventually, though, I realized what had just happened.

And I knew then that Fang and I couldn't be together like this.

"Fang…" I said, pulling away from him abruptly. "Fang, I don't know about this…" And with that, I rushed out of the room, leaving Fang alone in the dark.


	7. False

**So yesterday, I was at the pool with some of my friends, and we were just about to leave when these two boys who were in about 6****th**** grade came. We told them to turn off the pool lights when they were done (since we had turned them on when we got there) and they gave us some sarcastic remark. We just rolled our eyes, but they kept being idiots and shouting at us, which ticked all of us off since we were a lot older than them. We walked home, then realized that we had forgotten some stuff at the pool, so we had to go back. On the way, we came up with one of our rather brilliant plans. When we got back to the pool, I pretended to be a foreign exchange student. I talked in an obnoxious accent, and told the two boys that "Vere I come frum, ve send silly boys like you off to military school. You lucky you not live there. You vould be sleeping on cots and vaking up at six every morning to do drills. Not fun."**

**Let's just put it this way: I think we scarred those poor kids for life.**

**Chapter 7: False**

I ran into Nudge and Angel's room in a frenzy, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Throwing open the door, I fell onto their bed and curled up into a tight little ball, the impact shaking them awake.

"Max, are you okay?"

"Max, what happened?"

"You look terrible!"

I'll admit: this was not what I was hoping for in terms of emotional comfort. "Nothing happened. Don't worry about it. Just go back to bed," I mumbled into my pillow.

"Oh, Max," Angel murmured, reading my mind. "Max, I'm so sorry."

"What? _What?_" Nudge cried frantically, hating to not be in the loop.

"Fang just kissed Max," Angel said sadly.

"But that's great! That's what you were hoping for, isn't it?"

"But then she ran away," Angel finished, shaking her head.

Nudge frowned. "Max, what have I told you about this? You can't run away from your feelings. You have to face them."

"Nudge," I said tersely, "I know. I just have a lot to deal with right now, okay?"

"I know, Max, but –"

"No buts. Now get back to bed, both of you. We don't want you to be nodding off in the middle of getting your nails done!" I said with false cheerfulness. Laying down my head, I felt my throat tighten up, and a trail of a tear trickle down my cheek. Argh! I couldn't keep breaking down like this all the time! The Flock depended on me to stay strong in tough times, not to collapse into tears. And I was Emotionless Leader Max – I wasn't used to sharing my feelings with anyone, except for Fang. And as of right now, it didn't look as if I would be having a heart-to-heart talk with him anytime soon.

I assure you, some very colorful words were dancing across my head right now.

Why did I always have to screw things up?

. . .

I dragged myself out of bed the next morning, feeling like a zombie as I had not slept a wink last night. Great way to start a vacation, eh?

"Well, don't you look snappy this morning?" Total said sarcastically, as I loped out of the room. I aimed a kick at him, which he was smart enough to dodge.

Entering the mini kitchen, I saw that Iggy was frying bacon, and the rest of the Flock was sitting around the table. Except for one.

Three guesses who?

"Where's Fang?" Angel asked conversationally.

"Went out for a fly," Iggy replied. "Seem kind of tense… I wonder why?" he asked in all seriousness, having no idea of what went on last night.

"No clue," I mumbled.

"Sooo…" Nudge started, breaking the tension. "I made a schedule of what we're going to do each day while we're here." I looked down quickly, glad for the change of subject. When I saw what she was showing us, though, I groaned. Nudge had written out a complex sheet of notes about each of the attractions on the boat, and exactly what day and time we would be visiting each of them. And by each of them, I mean _all_ of them. This was just _one_ day in our packed schedule:

9:00 – Breakfast in room, courtesy of Iggy

10:30 – Arcade

12:00 – Lunch in dining hall

1:00 – Fly

3:00 – Free time

5:30 – Dinner in dining hall

7:00 – Live music in gazebo

8:30 – Rent movie

"Um, wow, Nudge," Gazzy said unenthusiastically. "Sounds… great." She frowned. "No, really. You planned everything out really well. I'm sure having a schedule will help a lot," he said hastily, covering up his mistake.

"Yeah, thanks, Nudge." Everyone smiled at her, and she cheered up.

"So I was thinking we'd check out the arcade this morning, sound good?" she asked.

"Sure. As soon as everyone's ready, we'll head down.

. . .

Turns out, the arcade wasn't just one of the wimpy ones you find at water parks and hotels. This thing was _massive_. The room itself was about the size of your average movie theater, and it was chock full of games galore. Gazzy and Iggy hurried over to some army game, while Angel dragged Nudge over to the Dance Dance Revolution machine. Which left Fang and I standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. Neither of us had mentioned what had gone on last night – we were acting much the same around each other, if not being a bit more polite.

"Um…"

"So."

"Yeah."

"Well –"

"Maybe…"

"Sounds good."

I coughed uncomfortably, and Fang gestured to a race track machine, which had two sets of seats and steering wheels. Having assumed that Fang had just wanted a place to sit down, I leaned against the back of the seat and closed my eyes. But apparently, Fang had different ideas.

"Um… Max? Are you going to play?"

"Oh. Right." I slid a couple of coins into the slot, and it asked us to pick characters to race with. Not surprisingly, Fang picked a teenage boy clad in black, actually looking very similar to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent himself. I picked the only teenage girl there was – one modeling a frou-frou blouse, a too-short miniskirt, and sparkly pink pumps. Fang raised his eyebrows, but I just shook my head.

Next, it asked us to pick vehicles. We both chose sleek, shiny racecars – Fang's black and mine dark red. The machine entered our data, placed our cars on two separate tracks, and counted down to the beginning of the race. As the bang of a gun signaled the start, my car gave a feeble jerk, spun around a bit, and then slowed to a halt. It was obvious that I'd had very little driving experience in my fourteen years. On the other hand, I could see Fang's car cruising around the track – he was a pro! Grinding my teeth, I edged my car past the pole it had slammed into, and was startled to see how fast it was going already. I urged it forward, having a strange, unexpected desire to win this thing. It was understandable, though – I couldn't stand losing. _Especially_ to Fang.

Quickly, I peered at the other screen. Still way ahead of me, it actually looked as if Fang's vehicle was about to lap mine! Stepping on the gas, I rose to maximum speed, but apparently that wasn't the best idea, because my car flew right over the edge of a bridge it was supposed to be crossing, and into the water below. I tapped my foot impatiently as my car was replaced, hating to see Fang beating me so badly. The rest of the game continued much in this fashion – Fang speeding around the track, me crashing into stationary objects, and Fang snickering at my lack of coordination. Finally, my screen flashed with a little "GAME OVER" sign, and I groaned in exasperation. Fang had won, and I still had to laps to go.

Gripping the steering wheel hard, I gave Fang the death glare. "I demand a rematch."


	8. Vulnerable

**Chapter 8: Vulnerable**

After our shindig in the arcade, we headed down to the dining hall for lunch. Words fail to describe the food they served. Let's just say that they give Iggy a run for his money. And that's saying something.

Next on Nudge's schedule was a two hour flight, the one part of the day that I was actually looking forward to. We poked around the ship a bit, looking for a good place to take off, and we found it – a landing area designed for helicopters. (Why a helicopter would want to land on a cruise ship – I have no idea. But it served our purpose.) Taking running starts, we threw ourselves into the air, stretching out our wings. Then, we booked it out of there, not wanting to be seen by wandering eyes.

"Hey, guys, I have an idea!" Angel cried, once we were a couple hundred feet in the air.

I groaned inwardly. Coming from Angel's mouth, those words can mean anything from a nice walk in the park to influencing the president of the United States change his annual budget plans. (And trust me. This has happened before.)

"How about we play tag?"

I raised my eyebrows – the idea seemed innocent enough. But with six rowdy, flying birdkids, this could turn into a disaster very quickly.

Before I could reply, though, Gazzy shouted out, "I have a better idea!"

Oh, no. Gazzy should have known better. Anyone who has lived with Angel for nearly their entire lives (read: the Flock) knows that you should not challenge her. She isn't good at losing.

"Oh,yeah?" Angel's eyes narrowed, deathly calm.

Gazzy, oblivious to the tension, said, "Yeah! Let's play _toilet _tag!"

Then, instead of the challenging reply I was expecting from Angel, she let out an excited whoop and said, "Yes! I _love_ toilet tag?"

Well, let's say it together, folks: _Whaaaaa?_

I rounded on Gazzy. "Will someone please explain to me what the he-" I was cut off by a warning look from Fang, "-_eck_ toilet tag is?" I exclaimed.

"Well…" Nudge started, "It's this game, kinda like freeze tag – hey, we played freeze tag in gym class when we were at school with Anne! It was so fun… and that cute guy, Connor, was in my class, too… _boy_, was he _gorgeous_..." I frowned at her. Only Nudge could turn a conversation about toilet tag into one about gorgeous guys.

Cowering under my glare, she continued hastily. "Er… well, anyways, it's like freeze tag, so when you get tagged, you have to freeze and become a toilet. You can't get unfrozen unless someone sits on you, and flushes your hand like a handle. If the person who's It freezes everyone, they win," she mumbled, surprisingly brief.

"Sounds perfect!" Iggy grinned evilly, and I inwardly groaned. This would be _very_ interesting; I knew Gazzy and Iggy would make sure of that.

"Whatever, guys," I agreed reluctantly. "But before we start, I think we should fly a couple of miles north until we're over land, just to be safe…"

Fang nodded, and we speeded over towards the coast. Angel flew hand-in-hand with Iggy, sweetly describing the beautiful ocean surrounding us. Nudge flew over next to Fang, the only one who could tolerate her rant about the cast of Jersey Shore. Sliding up next to Gazzy, I peered over at his face. He seemed so young and innocent up here in the sky, his expression open and vulnerable, his hair tousled in the wind. Before I could stop them, I felt tears pricking the corners of my eyes, and I hastily wiped them away with the back of my wrist.

"What's wrong, Max?" Gazzy asked, his eyes concerned.

I was again impressed at how well he knew me – how well the entire Flock knew me. But then again, that meant that I had to keep my emotions in check. I couldn't let them see how weak I really was. For the Flock, I knew my calm façade was one of the few constants they had and could rely on, and whenever it broke, I could tell it was unnerving to them.

Giving him my most reassuring smile, I replied, "Oh, nothing really, sweetie. Everything's fine."

He smiled back, but his reply was cut off by a shout from Nudge. "Hey, Max, I see land! Can we play now?"

"Sure," I said agreeably, and then added a quick "Not It!"

This was followed by a chorus of "Not It's!" from the rest of the Flock. Fang who had fallen behind to get a break from Nudge's constant chatter, was the last to say "Not It," and was declared "It" by a smug Iggy.

Fang counted to ten, and the rest of us spread out in different directions. At "Ten," Fang zoomed towards Gazzy, who did a slick little somersault move above him, promptly releasing a great belch of gas over Fang's head.

Fang gave a most girlish shriek, emitting snorts of laughter from Iggy and I. He charged at Gazzy, who attempted to dodge him, but failed epically and smashed right into Nudge. They were both turned into toilets without hesitation. Angel flew over to Nudge, flushing her handle and slapping a high five. She tried to unfreeze Gazzy, but was frozen herself, and was forced to hover and wait. Meanwhile, I was speeding away from Fang, who was chasing after me with a determined look on his face. Landing in a tree, I smirked at him, which only made him more frustrated. That was when I realized I was trapped – Fang had flown behind me, and now I had two options: 1) Fly backwards and inevitably get tagged by Fang, or 2) Fly any other direction and get a face-full of leaves and twigs. I chose the first option, because I'm just funny that way.

Fang's hand reached out and slapped my shoulder, and I grumpily positioned myself to look like a toilet, with my hand sticking out to look like a flusher.

I felt ridiculous.

Looking to my left, I saw that Iggy was flying around in vain, attempting to locate the rest of us. "Iggy! Over here! I'm frozen!" I shouted, and he flew quickly towards the sound of my voice.

"No, Iggy! This way!"

My hand flew to my mouth in shock – those words had not just come out of my lips. But then I looked over to see Gazzy snickering silently, and realized that he had thrown his voice in the other direction. Iggy had been fooled, though, and he was now speeding in the opposite direction. Hearing the sound of flapping wings, Iggy sat down on the "toilet," and jumped up in surprise and horror.

Angel screamed, and Fang clapped his hand over her mouth. Being blind, Iggy had thought that he was unfreezing _me_ by sitting on my lap and flushing the handle. But it had not been my lap that he had sat on.

It had been the lap of an Eraser.


	9. Reaction

**Ok, so the next chapter will change a lot of things.  
Hope you like it.**

**I'm also not a big fan of the Niggy thing, but I thought it would add a little interest, given the context of the next few chapters…**

**This chapter is dedicated to Lonewolfrox624, for reviewing every single one of my chapters. You've been amazing. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!**

**Chapter 9: Reaction**

A fresh stream of curses spewed from my mouth, and this time, Fang made no attempt to shush me. We all charged towards Iggy, who was already in combat with the Eraser he had mistaken for a toilet.

Looking around, I saw that we were surrounded by Erasers. When we had flown to Iggy, they had surrounded us, and now we were in the middle, looking like deer caught in headlights.

Angel was the first to regain her senses, and she roundhouse kicked an Eraser where it counts, causing him to double over. Then, she flew behind him and snapped one of his wings, causing him to plummet towards the ground, one wing flapping dejectedly.

A female Eraser flew towards me (new enhancement… ugh), aiming a punch, but before she could carry it out, I twisted her arm behind her back, hearing the little pop as the shoulder was dislocated.

"Max! Watch your back!" Gazzy cried out, and I turned around just in time to receive a blow to the face. Seething, I chopped the Eraser's shoulder and brought his wings together, and he fell awkwardly to the ground, shrieking in pain.

Peering around frantically, I saw that Angel was barely managing her Eraser – she was cradling her left arm and was slowly losing altitude. "Angel!" I shouted over the mayhem. "Fly to the forest over there. We'll meet you near the tallest pine tree. Go!"

Looking like she was torn, she hovered there for a few seconds, but my repeated command of "GO!" sent her flying unsteadily towards the trees. The Eraser she was fighting did not try to follow her, but instead turned to Iggy.

I took stock of our situation, and it looked as if our numbers were about even. Fang was sporting a bloody nose, and Gazzy had somehow lost a shoe (I really didn't want to know how that happened), but other than that, we were all fine. Speeding over to help Fang, I clapped my hands over an Eraser's eardrums, and his earsplitting screech almost made me cringe.

But I'm tougher than that. I kicked him in the gut, sending him sprawling. Flying over the Eraser that Fang was fighting, I brought both combat-boot-clad feet down on his head, and he was unconscious before he hit the ground. Fang flashed me a grin, and I had to, with difficulty, restrain the urge to kiss him full on the lips right then and there.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I was once again reminded by Gazzy that we were in the middle of a battle, and I performed a couple of punches, a couple of roundhouse kicks, and there was a ringing silence.

Gazing around at the Flock (minus Angel, who I could spot flying unevenly towards us), I beamed. Once again, we had proved that we were stronger than Itex and its freaky fighting machines. But, wait – wasn't something missing?

I looked over at Iggy, who had gone completely pale.

"Nudge."

. . .

She was gone.

Totally, utterly, freaking gone.

"Nudge!" Angel screamed. "NUDGE!"

Gazzy, wide-eyed, looked around at the rest of the Flock, completely at a loss for words.

Fang squinted towards the ground, his lips pressed tightly together.

But Iggy's reaction scared me most of all. His face was white, and his eyes were squinted closed. He trembled all over. His lips noiselessly formed a single word: "No."

"Iggy. _Iggy_," I said, my voice shaking badly. "It's okay. We'll find her. Don't worry. Please. I need you to stay with me here. _Iggy_," His sightless eyes flew open, and without a word, he sped down toward the ground.

. . .

We followed him, our eyes raking the area, looking in vain for a sign of Nudge. It felt as if we spent hours combing the forest, but in reality, it was only a few minutes. Iggy stood very still, concentrating on the smallest sounds – the snap of a twig, the crunch of leaves. Suddenly, Fang stopped, looking up at a large tree with broken branches near the top. Gazzy tapped Iggy's hand, and together, we flew in anticipation to the top of the tree.

And when I saw what was up there, I knew the image would be seared into my memory for the rest of my life.

. . .

You know when Mrs. Weasley faces the boggart in Harry Potter, and it turns into images of her dead family?

I had never really thought about it before, but I was a lot like Mrs. Weasley in that way.

My worst fear was for the lives of the Flock.

. . .

So, as you can imagine, when we found Nudge at the top of the tree, her eyes closed and her body twisted at a weird angle, I freaked.

"What. Do. You. See," Iggy demanded, clenching and unclenching his fists. No one answered him – we were all in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU SEE?" he screamed, and this time, Fang replied with a quiet. "She's unconscious. Her leg is bent under her. Her wing is twisted at a weird angle. She's covered in… in –"

His voice broke, and he turned away.

At that moment, everything went into hyper speed. Fang and I flew over to Nudge, and I ripped away the brambles that were trapping her. Fang lifted her bridal-style and carried her down to the forest floor. Gazzy rummaged in our backpack for the first aid kit, and Angel straightened out Nudge's limbs, some of which were at grotesque angels. Iggy, who looked like he was about to faint, felt Nudge's left wing, and mumbled, "It's broken. Three different places. Some of the bones are shattered. The broken bones have already set. We're going to have to re-break them." He turned suddenly and retched into the bushes. I rubbed his back for a few seconds, feeling his pain, then turned back to Nudge.

Fang murmured, "We can't take her to a hospital. I'll re-break the bones." He gingerly felt Nudge's wing, wrapped his hands around the outer edge, and there was a sickening snap as the bone broke. Nudge jerked, but didn't open her eyes. I took the bandage from Gazzy and wrapped it around her wing while Angel held it in place.

Next, we turned to her leg. It was bruised and swelling, and it looked as if it had taken her wait as she plummeted towards the trees. Iggy brushed his hands over it, and wordlessly took a make-shift splint out of our bag and attached it to Nudge's leg with more bandages. I took the antiseptic, and shakily dumped it over the long cut across Nudge's cheek, and Angel covered it with a large band-aid.

Looking over at Fang and Gazzy, I saw that they were furnishing a stretcher out of our windbreakers and some tree branches. "We have to move her," Gazzy said. "We aren't safe in the middle of the forest." I agreed, and gently lifted Nudge onto stretcher. Iggy and Fang both carried Nudge off the ground, taking care not to jostle her. We flew up to a cave about a mile away, and carefully lowered Nudge to the floor. Iggy sat down in a corner and curled up into a tight little ball, rocking back and forth. Fang stood stiffly against the wall of the cave, staring out into space. Tears rolling down his cheeks, Gazzy went to join Iggy. Angel and I sat on the hard floor, and I noticed her arm was swelling.

"Angel, sweetie, I forgot all about your arm! Come here so I can bandage it up." She nodded serenely, and placed her left arm in my lap. I wrapped a brace around her arm, and was about to go comfort Iggy, when I saw a tear trickle down Angel's cheek.

"What's wrong, Ange?"

Angel stroked Nudge's face, and turned to me with sad eyes. "Her hair. It's full of twigs. She wouldn't like that, would she?"

And with that, Angel buried her face into my chest and sobbed.


	10. Tempted

**Short chappie…**

**Will post again soon, though. **

**I was going to make this longer, but the chapter needed to end where it ended.**

**Ooh, I love cliffies, don't you? (Muhahahah….)**

**And by the way, I posted a picture of the room that the Flock stayed in while they were on the cruise. A little late, yes, I know… but it may come up again soon…**

**Chapter 10: Tempted**

The next couple of days were tough. Nudge woke up about 5 hours after the fight, and Angel literally threw herself over to her. The two girls hugged and sobbed, and even I felt my eyes watering up.

Must have been the onions from the pizza we ate for breakfast.

Iggy was strangely distant with Nudge. He had greeted her with a hug and a small smile, but other than that, had not spoken to her for the past three days. I wondered if he had feelings for her – his reaction when she had been hurt tipped me off.

Fang and I were still in the over-polite stage. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do about him. One thing I knew for certain, though: the minute we made our relationship (not that there was one, or anything) public, we would have to endure endless hours of merciless teasing courtesy of Gazzy and Iggy. But I also knew that our having a relationship might tip the delicate balance we had maintained since Jeb had left. I didn't want things to change – having the Flock stick together was my number one priority.

That day, while the rest of the Flock (minus Nudge, who was taking a nap in a corner) went for a fly, Fang approached me with a determined look on his face. Not wanting another make out session, I edged closer to Nudge's sleeping form.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to jump you or anything,"

Damn. He knew me to well.

I scowled at his smirking face, motioning for him to sit down.

"I was just going to ask – when are you planning on going back to the cruise?"

"Come again?" I said. I had been staring off into space once again.

"Heading back to the cruise. When were you thinking of heading back?"

"_Go back to the cruise?_ Are you joking? There's no way we're going back there. The Erasers know where we are. I'm surprised they haven't come back for us yet!"

"You're right, Max. Think about it. They _haven't_ come for us yet. It's been a week. I don't think they're coming back."

The guy had a point.

"But… still,"

"But… still?" interjected a voice. Iggy had flown past the cave and overheard our argument. "Since when is 'but… still' a good argument? That's low, Max. Just low." Iggy snickered, but at a look from me, skittered out of there. What can I say? I just have that effect on people. **(AN: Quote from JP's Max. One of my favorites… just had to use it… it was a perfect fit…)**

I turned me attention back to Fang, who was staring at me with smoldering eyes. Woah – did I just say smoldering? Someone kill me now…

Trying to come up with a snarky response, I stuttered and stumbled. Damn Fang. Damn Fang and his stupid smoldering eyes.

He smirked at my lost expression, and took advantage of my momentary lack of witty jibes.

"We're staying."

Wait… what?

Did he seriously just – Oh, my goodness.

He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into.

Or did he? He knew me so well…

But anyone who knows me that well knows not to contradict me…

I got real close to his face, poking him in the chest and ready to tell him off –

When he kissed me.

Full on the lips.

Aw, hell.

. . .

His arms wrapped around my waist, and we backed against the wall of the cave. I was squashed between him and the hard surface of the cave, but oh, the feeling of his lips on mine was so intensely good…

I was tempted to kiss him back, to tangle my hands in his hair, but instead, I used my force to push him away.

I tried to think of a way to tell him that we couldn't do this, couldn't be together. Wracking my brain, I almost moaned in frustration, when I realized that there was only one way to end this.

And it wouldn't be pretty.

. . .

"Fang, I – I don't feel that way about you."

**RnR? I love reviews… they totally make my day…**

**And I'll assure you, although the Fax situation isn't looking so good right now…**

**It'll all work out in the end.**

**Don't give up on me.**

**I promise you, Fax will always, **_**always **_**prevail in the end.**

**Sooo… KEEP READING! :)**


	11. Slapped

**Chapter 11: Slapped**

It killed me.

It killed me to see Fang recoil like he'd been slapped.

It killed me to see him totally let his guard down.

It killed me when I saw the hurt, the betrayal, the pain, the utter pain.

It killed me that there was no anger whatsoever.

It killed me that he didn't blame me – he blamed himself.

It killed me that I had done this to him.

It killed me that I had lied.

It killed me.


	12. Weak

**Well, wasn't that last chapter dramatic?**

**Trust me, I'm not usually such a drama queen, but I felt that it was necessary to get a glimpse of what Max was really feeling, not just the façade she wore on the outside.**

**And I'm aware that it was short… very short.**

**That's why I'm updating so soon.**

**Shout out to TweetySweetie101 and fanglover18… you guys have been amazing with reviews. This chapter is for you!**

**Chapter 12: Weak**

I watched in horror as Fang kind of crumpled to the ground, slumped against the wall of the cave, his eyes glazed over. Hot, angry tears pooled up in my eyes, and I raced out of the cave. Slicing through the air at super speed, I whizzed past a perplexed Flock. Landing in a tall tree, I curled against the branch and sobbed. I sobbed harder than I ever had sobbed before, eventually making myself sick. Wiping my mouth in disgust, I gave a few dry hiccups. There were no tears left to spill.

I couldn't believe what I had done. Saying that I had broken Fang's heart wasn't even an accurate description. I had pummeled it, beaten it up, ripped it into shreds, and stomped on them in high heels. There. That was more like it.

I had no idea why I had done it. Told him I hadn't loved him.

When, I could finally admit it to myself…. I had loved him. I still did. I would forever. He was the only one I would or could ever want to be with.

So why did I totally, downright, flat-out reject him?

Because I knew we couldn't love each other like that.

It would make me weaker. It would make us weaker. It would make the Flock more vulnerable.

And by making the Flock more vulnerable, I would be putting us all at risk.

My brain just wouldn't let me do that.

But would my heart let me reject Fang?

I didn't know about that either….

I flew back to the cave maybe two hours later, to see the Flock sitting (well, Nudge was lying on a blanket, actually) tersely in a circle. Again, we were missing one member.

Fang.

It hurt to think about him, but I forced my mind to.

"Max, can we talk to you for a second?" Nudge's sweet voice pierced the silence like a dagger.

"Mmm?"

"Well, we were thinking…" Angel started.

"What did you do to Fang?" Gazzy interjected.

"Why does he look like he just went to a funeral?"

"Why is he moping around talking less than he already does, which equals saying nothing?"

"This is all your fault!"

"He loved you, you know!"

"Why did you have to go and break his heart?"

I put my hands up in surrender, taking a step backwards. Looking around at the Flock, I saw that the girl's faces wore concerned expressions, Gazzy looked utterly bewildered, and Iggy's face was contorted in anger.

"Whoa, whoa, guys," Angel said, and for once, I was glad that she was taking the lead. "This is probably really overwhelming for Max. Why don't we just let Iggy talk to her?"

There was a chorus of mumbled "Okay, fines" and a few eye rolls. I motioned to Iggy near the edge of the cave, and in a bound, we were both in the air, our wings spread out behind us. We flew in silence for a bit, then Iggy started to bank, and I saw that he was heading towards a small clearing near a lake (not telling you what it's called). We sat down on an abandoned park bench, and Iggy looked tense and about ready to burst. I waited patiently for him to start his rant.

"I can't believe you, Max. He loved you! Don't you realize that? He came and talked to me, asked for advice, trying to gather up enough courage, and then he finally did, and you broke his heart. Have you seen him? He's like an empty shell! It's scary. You're not the only one who cared about him, you know! He was like a brother to the rest of us. Or did you even care about him? You know, we all – "

I cut him off mid-sentence, and looked him straight in the eye. "Look, Iggy. I'm going to tell you something, and I need you to promise to share it with no one. Especially not Fang."

"Make me," he challenged.

"Fine," I waved my hand lightly, knowing it would get on his nerves. "I won't tell you, then. Maybe I'll go talk to Nudge…"

"Okay. Fine. I won't tell anyone."

"Promise me you won't."

"Sure, Max, _I promise_," he said sarcastically. "Is that good enough for you? Or do you want me to pinky swear it?"

He held out his hand, and I swatted it away. "Okay, then, I'll tell you. I _am_ in love with Fang."

"Oh, _newsflash_! Gee whiz, didn't see that one coming! It's not like you've been making gaga eyes at him for the past _year_, no, _nothing _like that…"

"Iggy. Shut up for a second." He stared at me with narrowed eyes, daring me to contradict him. "Yes, I know I've been making gaga eyes. Yes, I know I've been an idiot. And yes, _I am also in love_. But Fang and I can't be like that! I thought you, of all people would understand!"

He cast his eyes down, knowing I was referring to him and Nudge.

"You _know_ that the more you love, the more you lose! I can't love Fang like that. If anything were to ever happen to him –" my voice broke, and I fought to keep it steady, "you know that it would destroy me! Our being in love makes the Flock weaker, and I can't have that."

Iggy looked at me, his eyes now soft, understanding. "But Max, you haven't got a choice."

My head snapped up. "What?"

"You can't choose who you fall in love with. Love just… happens. Whether you want it to or not. You and Fang are in love. There's nothing you can do to change that."

I peered up at him, his face open, a vacant expression in his eyes. I wondered if he spoke from experience.

He had no idea how much those words meant to me. Fighting back tears (why the hell do I keep crying so much? I really need to go back to the whole emotionless leader thing. It worked so much better), I scooted closer to him, and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Unlike Fang, he was not stiff as a board – his arms wrapped around me and I buried my face into his shoulder. He stroked my hair in a brotherly way, whispering, "It'll be okay, Max. It'll be okay."

I slowly pulled away from him, gave his hand a grateful squeeze, and took off into the night.


	13. No

**Thanks for all the reviews! You guys make me feel loved 3**

**Chapter 13: No**

Fang clenched and unclenched his hands, his face distorted in a mask of unbearable sadness and rage. Look what he had done. He had finally, _finally_ shown to Max how much he loved her, and now, a few hours later, he was wandering the shadowed streets in the D.C. area, alone. Because of Max. _No! _a voice in his head protested. _It's not her fault. It's yours._ No matter how hard he tried to force himself to be angry at Max for rejecting him, he couldn't. It simply wasn't possible for him to be angry at Max. So, he reasoned, it was his fault. He was the one who had let his guard down, who had made himself susceptible and weak. _It was his fault._

He walked briskly, relishing the feeling of the aching blisters on his bare feet, the sharp brambles scraping his arm as he deliberately brushed against a bush. Any physical pain was more bearable than having to think about what had just happened.

Looking up at the sky, he guessed it was about four o'clock, three hours since he had been in the cave with Max. He wondered where she had gone when she had flown off. Was she out there somewhere, just as alone as he was? Mentally slapping himself, he uttered a curse. _No thinking about Max. Think about happy thoughts. Like rainbows, and butterflies, and sparkly ponies..._ That deserved another mental slap, but before he had the chance to shake his head at the stupidity of his wandering thoughts, he skidded to a stop at the sight of something that brought back floods of memories.

It was a large, dark church with a tall spire protruding from the top. Fang was forcefully reminded of a church very similar to this that he had seen about three months ago. He and Max had been following a lead that Max had gotten from the news, and they stumbled across the home of Iggy's parents.

That was when they had been in Virginia with Anne. Virginia… where he had gotten a chance at a normal life, gone to school, had his first Thanksgiving dinner, gotten his first real kiss…

Gotten his first real kiss…

With a start, Fang remembered the kiss in vivid detail.

Her fiery red hair, her sweet smile as she leaned into him, his hands rubbing her back, her arms around his neck…

Lissa.

He knew what he had to do.

. . .

Fang had known that the flight to Virginia was long. What he had forgotten was that he hadn't eaten since noon, and he didn't remember to pack any food. Not wanting to waste time, he didn't stop for rest or to run through a Burger King, and so when he landed in a clearing near Anne's house, he fell to the ground, exhausted and starving.

Looking around, he gauged that he was about a mile from Anne's house. Lissa lived a few blocks away from Anne – he had visited her house in the short period of time that they were dating – and he started walking purposefully in that direction. After about ten minutes, he arrived at her front doorstep, raised his hand to ring the doorbell –

And stopped. Slamming his fist against the brick of the large house, he cursed himself – turns out he hadn't thought through this plan at all. What the hell was he supposed to do once he got here? He shook his head. What did that matter, anyway? He had started this, he might as well finish it. Punching the doorbell with an unneeded amount of force, Fang stepped back and waited.

. . .

Lissa's mom opened the door, and clapped her hand to her mouth in surprise. "Nicholas, darling! You're back! Oh, how we've missed you, how Melissa's missed you!"

"It's good to see you, too, Mrs. Harrison,"

"Oh dear, you look spent. Do come in and sit down! Melissa, love," she called to Lissa, "come downstairs! Someone very special is here to see you!"

"Ugh, Mom, do I have to? I'm texting Jake…"

"_Yes_, honey," Mrs. Harrison said in a strained voice. "You'll really want to come see our guest."

Lissa tromped down the stairs, in skinny jeans and a gray blazer, her hair curled into flawless waves. Fang looked at her, expecting his breath to catch, the way it did whenever he saw Max, but he only stared in mild interest.

Lissa, however was not so mild. "Nicky!" she squealed, throwing herself into Fang's arms. Fang stiffened, patting her back awkwardly, and was aware of the fragrance of her hair, an over powerful stench of strawberries. Max smelled citrusy and fresh, he thought, not nearly as unpleasant as Lissa's sickly sweet smell.

Almost moaning in frustration, he tried to stop thinking of Max. _No Max. Max is bad. No thinking about her._

Stepping away from Lissa, he slowly looked her in the eye. Her expression was glowing and eager. "Oh, Nicky, I've missed you so much! Why did you have to go?"

Fang shifted uncomfortably. "Er…"

"Here, you don't have to explain now. I understand." She gave him a sweet smile and took him by the hand. "Come on, let's go to the park. We can talk there."

Waving goodbye to her mother with perky cheerfulness, Lissa skipped out the door, Fang following in her wake. Once they were outside, she looked up into his eyes, and said, "So what have you been doing with yourself, Nicky?"

"Erm, not much," he said awkwardly. "Just been… around. What about you?"

"Well," she gushed, "after all the craziness at the school, they had us transferred over to a nearby high school for the rest of the year. It was uh-mazing. There were so many new kids, and lots of great guys… but I never looked at one of them, you know."

Fang seriously doubted the truth of this statement.

"Really, Nicky, why did you leave?" Her eyes pleaded him to tell the truth.

"Um, well, some things came up…"

She abruptly changed the subject. "Is there something going on in between you and Max? I know you guys were adopted, and everything…"

"No," Fang said jerkily. "There's nothing between us."

"Good." Lissa batted her eyelashes. "Like I said, I haven't looked at another guy since you. I always knew you had been the one."

Fang bit his lip.

"Why did you come back, Nick?"

"Well, er – "

But before he could say anything else, Lissa put her hands on his chest, reached up, and kissed Fang full on the mouth. He went rigid in surprise, but slowly kissed her back, realizing how much he had longed for a kiss like this. Lissa, taking dominance, backed him up until they were sitting on a bench in a secluded area of the park. Fang deepened the kiss, his hands roaming across Lissa's back, hers cupping his cheeks. Her hands felt soft against his face, nearly as soft as Max's…

Max.

Dammit.

Gasping, he pulled back from Lissa's embrace. The look of shock and hurt on her face would have normally made him feel guilty, but this time, it only fueled his anger at himself. "Lissa… I can't. This won't work."

Her lips trembled. "But why, Nicky?"

"Because… there's someone else."

Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, threatening to streak the mascara coating her eyelashes. "Who? Who? Tell me! I'll _kill_ them!" she said, her sadness turning into pitiful rage.

Fang stood up. "I've gotta go. Sorry – "

She burst into tears as he backed away. "But Nicky, I loved you!"

Shaking his head, Fang stated what he already knew.

"No. You didn't."


	14. Expected

**Okay… I have no excuse for why I updated so late. I could go into the whole "I'm so extraordinarily busy I had not one single freaking minute this week to write thing" but I won't bore you with that. Heh.**

**As an apology for the long time you've all had to wait for an update, here's an extra long chapter. (:**

**Chapter 14: Expected**

We sat on the floor of the cave, the Flock and I, not talking, just sitting. Why do we spend half of our time in caves these days, you may ask? I have no freaking idea. Maybe it's because we don't really have a purpose – we're still on the run, but we aren't trying to accomplish anything. At the moment.

Fang was still missing, and it was starting to worry me. He had been gone since last night, and it was already mid-afternoon. I understood how badly I had hurt him, but he had never been missing for this long before…

But then again, I had never done anything of this magnitude to hurt him before…

Angel sighed. I guessed that she had probably been reading my thoughts. I'm sure it's annoying to have a bunch of depressed birdkids whose thoughts you had to read floating around in one room, but then again, it wasn't _necessary_ for her to read our thoughts, was it? Couldn't she just block them out or something?

_Well it's kind of hard to do that when you're shouting them…_

_Screw you._

Angel snickered. _Language, Max._

_ Wait – do you even know what that means?_

She wiggled her eyebrows, and I groaned.

Our little mind-fighting fest was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter near the entrance to the cave. Wait – a helicopter? _What the hell?_

I hastily jumped to my feet and hurried towards the noise, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel following close behind. The helicopter was hovering in the air, and a ladder extended from one of the doors. Tensing, I prepared for fight, but Angel's voice barged into my head again. _They're not trying to fight us, Max. Do you really think Erasers would use a helicopter?_

She had a good point, but I wasn't about to admit it.

A tall man stepped down the ladder, reaching his hand up to help the woman who was descending behind him. The man looked strangely familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. I finally got a glimpse of the woman's face as she reached the bottom of the ladder…

And almost retched.

I knew this woman.

She was the woman in the picture that Gazzy slept with every night.

The woman that cradled the small baby with a sweet cowlick.

The woman that sold her two children to Itex for $10,000.

The woman that was Gazzy and Angel's mother.

. . .

The couple, now holding hands, stepped down from the ladder, and I was struck by how much they both looked like Angel and the Gasman. I didn't dare turn around to see their faces, but slowly reached out my arms so that I was gripping Angel's hand tightly, and had a steady hold on Gazzy's shoulder. I could feel them both shaking.

Stepping forward, with all of the Flock (well, _almost _all of it. Fang was still who-knows-where) filling in behind me, I got right up in their faces, and demanded, "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing here?"

Normally, I wouldn't have been quite so hostile on meeting the Flock's parents, but one look at them and I knew they were bad news. Their white lab coats had the Itex logo printed on the pocket, and that was enough to set off the warning bells.

The man looked startled at my aggression, but the woman just shook her head. "Well, Maximum - "

"Max," I spat.

"Well, _Max, _I was expecting a more welcoming reply, seeing as we _have_ come to help you. However, since it seems that I will not be receiving one, I shall continue on as if I didn't even hear you."

"We don't need any help from you." I was seething. The nerve of these people, to just reenter Angel and Gazzy's lives after almost a decade, and expect a welcome!

"Hmm. Well, in that case, we'd best be on our way…"

The woman turned around and deliberately made her way back to the helicopter.

"Just tell us what you want." Angel's voice was cold and filled with loathing.

The tone of her voice made the man hesitate. His wife looked like she had every intention of leaving right then, but at a look from the man, slowly turned around, her face unreadable.

"We've come to offer you a deal."

. . .

Now if those words don't make you pause, I don't know what will. I actually laughed out loud. "A deal? Really? That's the best way you can come up with to get us to do your bidding? You whitecoats used to use force… Erasers, mass attacks, but I guess you outgrew that, huh?"

The woman glowered. "You may call me Dr. Evelyn Castillo. This is my husband, Dr. Richard Castillo. We are the head researchers at Itex. You may be familiar with this company."

"Familiar? Well, yes, I did spend the first eight years of my life locked in a cage at one of their facilities, but other than that, not _too_ familiar…"

Dr. Castillo ignored my jibe. "We have been overseeing you and your Flock since birth. My husband was the one who initially had the idea of creating human-avian hybrids. He proposed this idea to Dr. Frank Williams, who was, at the time, the director of Itex. Dr. Williams did not agree with this idea. He thought that experimenting on human beings was sick and cruel. Our idea was rejected.

"But my husband and I felt that the idea had promise. We took it to one of Itex's less-known branches, in Death Valley, California. There, we met Jeb Batchelder, who was interested in assisting us in our experiment. He was currently working at a hospital in Washington, D.C., and he agreed to help us retrieve newborn children from the hospital that we could experiment on.

The woman continued. "I was puzzling over how to inject the Avian DNA into the experiments one day. We had been planning on injecting the DNA when the children were two to three weeks old, but then I thought – what if, instead of injecting the Avian DNA into the bloodstream when the children were a few weeks old, we injected it into the mother's bloodstream when she was eight months pregnant?"

I felt sick.

"So Dr. Batchelder found three young women, all who were at different stages of pregnancy. He injected the DNA into the first woman when she was eight months pregnant. She had the baby successfully, but the doctors at the hospital told her that the baby hadn't made it. The infant was brought to Death Valley, and was soon joined by the two others, whose mothers had also been told that they had passed away (Although one mother didn't believe it. She insisted on protesting that her child was missing. That was your mother, I believe, James?)"

Iggy stoically didn't reply, but his face was white and his lips were trembling – with sadness or rage, I don't know.

"We were amazed at the results we got from these three human-avian hybrids. They had lived for nearly three years, which was already a medical miracle. We decided to make another hybrid. Dr. Batchelder successfully injected the DNA into another child from the hospital – Monique, if I'm not mistaken – and she turned out to be a success, also. I then decided that I wanted to be a part of this revolution, too. Since it was unfortunately too late to fuse avian DNA into my body, I became pregnant, and at eight months, Dr. Batchelder injected the DNA. A month later, I had my first child, Gregory Castillo."

My head whipped around towards the Gasman, and I saw that his eyes were wide, drinking in everything about his newfound mother.

Dr. Castillo looked like she was tearing up. I was sure that she was milking this for all it was worth. "He was a success also, and I wasn't surprised. When I became pregnant again, I knew that I wanted my second child to also have wings. On April 29, Angel Castillo was born. My first daughter."

I noticed that both times, she had neglected mentioning that she had sold each of her children to Itex for $10,000.

"She was beautiful. They all were. To me, the entire batch of hybrids was like my own children. I looked after them, took care of them, for the first part of their lives. Dr. Batchelder, my husband, and I showed Dr. Williams, who was still the director of Itex, what we had done, and this time, he was very impressed. He gave us money to conduct research on these six extraordinary children. Everything was running smoothly until Batchelder turned traitor and ripped you six away from me. I was heartbroken. I had loved you."

I flinched. She sounded so… earnest. It was hard not to believe her.

But I had heard this crap a million times before, and wasn't affected by it.

I was about to make some cynical remark, when Dr. Castillo held out her arms. "And now here you all are. Maximum. Nicholas. James. Monique. Gregory. Angel. My children."

If she had expected us to all come rushing forward into a soppy hug, she thought wrong. Looking hurt, she dropped her arms to her sides.

"So what do you really want?" I demanded, purposely skirting around the whole parent subject. "You come here and tell us this sappy story, and then expect us to go along with whatever you want us to do. So what is it? What's this so-called deal?"

The man spoke up for the first time. "We're here to offer you a home. Food. Comforts. Anything you want at your request."

"Ah… sure. And what's in it for you?"

He coughed uncomfortably, and his wife took over. "A comfortable home in exchange for your consent to come to the lab once a week for certain tests and experiments." She paused again, as if expecting noisemakers and elated cheers.

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, then. Count us out."

"Are you sure that's what is best for the whole Flock, Maximum? Or are you only thinking about yourself again?"

Her tone made me pause. I turned around to look at my Flock.

And was shocked at what I saw.

**RnR?**


	15. Ran

Chapter 15 : Ran

Fang found himself walking aimlessly again, the moon lighting up the quiet streets of Virginia. He had just barely escaped from Lissa – she had ran manically after him as he left her, but finally, once he reached a cluster of trees, he had snapped out his wings and taken off, gone unnoticed by a sobbing Lissa. He flew in large, sweeping circles for awhile, not really knowing what to do. Somehow, he felt calmer after the incident at the park, but he knew that he wasn't ready to go back to the Flock yet.

After flying south for half an hour, he came across a dingy Motel 8. Figuring that he needed a place to stay for the night (and as long as he had some cash, he would rather not sleep on a park bench), Fang banked near a tall pine tree a block away from the motel, and walked the rest of the way. As he pulled open the door, a bell clanged, announcing his arrival, and he entered a run-down lobby, with shabby sofas and cheap magazines from last year littered over the cushions. Fang walked up to the front desk and rang the service bell. The clock ticked by, but all he heard were some grunts coming from another room. He rang it again impatiently, and waited a few more minutes before angrily knocking the door that said STAFF ONLY. Finally, the door heaved open, and an unkempt man wearing a grungy T-shirt loped out, scratching his head.

"Sorry 'bout the wait – jus' lookin' for my cig'rettes, you seen 'em?"

Fang shook his head in mild interest.

"Whatcha doin' here, bucko?" the man asked. "Whaddya want?"

"I want a room to stay in for the night."

"Well, that be costin' a lotta money, kid. You ain't lookin' like yeh got a lotta cash, do yeh?"

Fang wordlessly pulled out a wad of fifties from his pocket that he and Max had collected from the ATM. That was before he had left … the guilt crushed him again, but the man interrupted his thoughts.

"Well, gee whilickers, I'll be damned! Yeh're rich, kid! A few of those fifties would be jus' dandy…"

Handing over the bills, Fang grabbed a bruised apple from the basket on the desk, and headed off. As he went up the stairs, he faintly heard the man saying, "Golly, I'm ri-ich! Would yeh lookit that! Don't need teh find them cig'rettes now…"

. . .

Fang slid the key into the slot on the door of Room 233, only to discover that he didn't need to – the door was completely unlocked. Shrugging, he shoved it open, and before his eyes lay a single fold-out sofa, a coffee maker (which, from the smell of it, still contained coffee from the last visitors), an ironing board, and a 5x5 foot bathroom. Fang yanked at another door marked "STAFF ONLY", hoping he'd find some more supplies inside, but this door was unfortunately locked. He heaved his weight against it, but it wouldn't budge. Flopping down onto the sofa-bed, he sighed. This was what he got for running away without Max. Undoubtedly, she would have never gotten the Flock in a situation like this. _And hence, she is the leader, _he said to himself, and groaned. This situation couldn't possibly get any worse.

. . .

Well, evidently, it could.

Fang woke up the next morning to loud pounding on his door. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he threw off the wrinkled covers and unlocked the deadbolt.

_Slap._

Fang let out a strangled "Aah-owww," and held his hand to his face. An angry red welt snaked across his cheek. He turned towards the girl at the door, standing there with her hands on her hips and a defiant expression on her features.

"What the _hell_ was that for?"

"For being a BITCH, that's what! You left Max! You left her alone! How could you? IDIOT! JERK! BITCH!"

She slapped him again, and he held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't – I didn't leave – "

The girl hissed. "Yes. You. Did. You total asshole. See my fangirl badge? See it?" She ripped a badge off her shirt that had TEAM FANG written across it in bold black letters. "Watch what I'm going to do to it now."

Fang stepped back, raising his eyebrows in concern. The girl's hair frizzed out, and she looked mad. She pulled out a box of matches, and Fang reached out in alarm, but she hissed at him again, and he backed off. Lighting a match, she held it to the fangirl badge, and it quickly caught fire. She dropped it to the ground, still flaming, and ran off, cackling evilly.

Fang stomped out the badge on the carpeted floor, where it left scorch marks, and picked it up. TEAM FANG. What the hell? How did this girl know his name? Then a thought occurred to him. Was it April Fool's Day? He checked his watch. March 15, 2010. No, a couple days off…

His wandering thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sobbing outside his door. Sobbing? He warily opened the door again, but didn't see anything until his eyes travelled downward. Down on the floor, a different girl had her head in her hands, and was sobbing passionately. Biting his lip, Fang bent down and touched her shoulder. "Erm… excuse me? Are you okay?" The girl looked up with teary eyes, but her look of sadness suddenly turned into pitiful rage. "You! Y-YOU!" she stuttered feebly. "You ran away, you c-coward! You ran away from the Flock! You ran away from – from your s-soul mate! I h-hate – I hate – " She burst into tears again, and Fang patted her shoulder awkwardly. After a few minutes of this, he gingerly stood up. "Ah – I really have to go…" Sprinting inside, he grabbed his backpack, leaped over the hunched form of the girl, and ran like hell. He turned around to see the girl shaking her finger at him and shouting "GO BACK TO MAX!"

. . .

Fang quickly exited the Motel, and took off at a brisk walk. What was that all about? He had no idea why those two girls had shown up at his door, but then again, he really _didn't_ want to know. Ugh. Teenage hormones.

He walked into town, hoping to find a little more comforting normality. (Not like he had much of that in his life, anyways…) Figuring he'd go back to the Flock in the afternoon, he decided to spend the morning in town. As he walked past a couple holding hands, he found both of them glaring at him. He gingerly sidestepped them, but not after hearing the guy hiss "I'm a better man than you," and look pointedly at the pair's entwined hands. Fang quickened his pace.

He reached the community park, and saw a mother pushing her child in a stroller. "Mommy – that's him! That's the mean birdkid from that book I told you about!" The woman scowled at him, and deliberately turned around the stroller. "That's alright, sweetie. He won't hurt you."

Fang pinched himself. _Is this a dream?_

Seeing a coffee shop/book store, he quickly walked inside and sat down at one of the tables. Fang leaned back and closed his eyes. _Maybe, if I fall asleep, I'll wake up and this won't be happening._ But a few seconds later, his eyes snapped open as he heard the sound of ripping pages. Leaving his table and walking into the bookstore area, he saw a teenage girl holding a book and ripping out the pages angrily. A salesman was trying to stop her. "Excuse me, ma'am, that's the bookstore's property – you have no right to – "

"YES, I HAVE EVERY RIGHT. THAT _IDIOT_ LEFT THE FLOCK! I'LL KILL HIM!"

That was it. Fang slammed open the door of the bookstore and rushed out. As he hurried away, his eye caught one of the window-displays in the bookstore.

_FANG, A MAXIMUM RIDE NOVEL_

_RELEASED MARCH 15, 2010_

_BUY YOUR COPY TODAY!_

**If you guys haven't already discovered, March 15, 2010 was the release date of FANG. **

**Heh…heh…**

**The whole Fang-being-a-total-jerk-and-leaving-Max-for-twenty-years-thing has nothing to do with my story (this takes place after MR2). This was just a way of me venting my anger at JP (yet again. It's been months since I finished the darn book and I'm still POed)**


	16. Stay

**So we had our annual block party this weekend…**

**My friend and I were bored, so we went inside her house. We pored through her closet, found all of her old skirts, ponchos, shawls, etc., and dressed up as old ladies. Putting on large hats and sunglasses so we wouldn't be recognized, we hobbled outside and over to the bounce house, asking the attendant, "When is the bounce house open for ages 75 and over?"**

**It was epic.**

Chapter 16: Stay

My Flock stared back at me, hands on their hips, with those adorable expressions that they get when they're angry on their faces.

And yeah, in case you're wondering, by _my _Flock, I mean my _whole_ Flock. That's right. Fang was back.

I felt like bursting into tears and running into Fang's arms, but I was Maximum Ride. I didn't do those things.

So instead, I turned back around to face Dr. Creeptastic. "Oh, yeah? You want me to do what's best for the Flock? Well what's best for the Flock would be for you to get the hell –" I came to a screeching halt when I saw what Dr. Castillo had meant by the _whole _Flock. They stood together, glaring at the Castillos, but Angel was off to the side. There was a distant, faraway expression on her face, but suddenly, she snapped out of it and took a step towards her mother.

Oh god, oh god, oh god, please no, not Angel –

Dr. Castillo crouched down so she was at Angel's level. "What is it, sweetie? Do you disagree with Maximum? Your opinion counts, too."

Angels expression was soft, tears pooling in her eyes, and I was worried, so worried, that she would let herself be whisked away by these unknown parents, and that I could do nothing to stop her.

But her eyes suddenly narrowed, her expression cold.

"No freaking way, you creep."

And she slapped her mother across the face.

. . .

Dr. Castillo recoiled as if she had been slapped – no, wait. She had. By her very own _daughter_…

No, Max. Cut the crap. We have two wackjobs trying to kidnap us. Stay focused.

My little perky, pep-talking self smiled in satisfaction. I mentally slapped it.

I walked up to Dr. Creep (my new official name for her. Angel's insult had sealed the deal) and got right up into her face.

"Couldn't have put it better myself, you –" Iggy's hand covered my mouth, staunching the flow of curses about to erupt from my unfiltered mouth. I spat in it, and he yanked it away, muttering something that sounded awfully like, "And they think teenage guys are disgusting…"

I turned my attention back to Dr. Creep, who was staring at us in disapproval. My fists clenched. "Get. Out. Now. Before _I _slap you."

Her nostrils flared, and she spun on her heel. This time, her husband followed her. As she ascended the ladder up to the helicopter, her last words haunted me.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

. . .

Just kidding. They didn't haunt me.

Actually, I burst out laughing, because the whole situation was so damn funny. An _adult_, actually threatening _us…_

More laughter joined mine, and soon we were all rolling on the floor, clutching our stomachs. Even Fang was in hysterics, which, let me tell you, was extraordinarily rare. Someone should document this day, or something…

It took us awhile to recover, but eventually our shouts of laughter subsided into small hiccups, and Gazzy gave a loud yawn. I looked at the sky, and saw that it was already dark. Avoiding Fang's gaze, I turned towards the rest of the Flock. "All right, now off to bed. All of you. It's been a long day," My order was met with some grumbling, but to my relief Gazzy curled up on the floor next to Nudge, and Iggy rested his back against the wall of the cave. Fang caught my eye, wordlessly asking if he should take first watch, but I shook my head. I needed some time to think.

Oh, lordie. Fang. What the hell was I going to do with him?

I had expected him to at least say _something_ when he had gotten back, but so far, he'd been about as talkative as a rock. I didn't blame him, though, figuring we both needed some time to work things out.

A few minutes later, I heard a quiet shuffling, and saw a small figure making its way across the cave towards me. Angel. She crawled into my open arms, and I held her thin body to me. I could feel her shaking with silent sobs, her chest heaving. I rocked her back and forth, silently stroking her hair. When her sobs quieted, I smoothed her bangs off her forehead and looked into her eyes.

"What were you thinking, when you faced your… mom?"

"I – I don't know, Max," she whispered. "She scared me. I would never want someone as scary as her for a mother. But she is my mother, so in a way, I have to love her, you know?"

Actually, I didn't, but I nodded anyways.

"When she looked at me like that," Angel continued, "it was like she had total power over me. For a second, I thought I was going to go with her. I was so scared. I can influence people's minds, but this – this was ten times worse. Because I had a choice, and I wanted to go along with her anyways."

"What did you think of? What made you stay?"

Angel was quiet for a second. "I thought of you, Max."

**RnR? I would love any suggestions as to crazy situations that the Flock could get themselves into… I have a bit of time to fill before the next big event, and want to add a little more humor… any ideas?**


	17. Fairytale

**My teacher, on translating Shakespeare's Sonnet 116: **

"**So even if Time comes at you with this huge sickle, and slices off all your pretty parts, LOVE WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL!"**

Chapter 17: Fairytale

_Max's Story_

_Once upon a time, Max the birdgirl and her happy band of birdkids met a bunch of silly guys who wanted to do tests on them, so they offered her a deal! She could live in a nice, cozy house, and the silly guys would poke some needles into her (but don't worry – they'd cover up the boo-boo with a bandaid!) But Max was a smart girl, and she said no-no to the silly guys. That was okay. They went bye-bye. And Max had a nice talk with her birdkid brothers and sisters, and they said "Good job, Maxie! You're such a good leader and we all love you so much!" And they all gave Max the birdgirl a hug and lived happily ever after. _

That's my story. Do you like it?

It's a fairytale.

So no, they didn't all live happily ever after, in case you're wondering.

. . .

"Hey guys," I said the next morning, once the Flock had woken up. (To the sound of me blowing the Gasman's kazoo. Really, _really_ loud. What can I say? We had business to do.)

"I think we need to have a talk. Fang, Iggy, do you agree?"

Iggy made a choking noise. "_What?_"

I frowned. "I said, I think we need to have a talk."

"_The_ talk?"

That was when it clicked.

"No, Iggy, you perverted pig!" I cried, facepalming, while Fang chuckled softly. What a bunch of idiots.

Angel piped up innocently (wait – did I just put Angel and innocent in the same sentence? Someone kill me now…), "I don't get it, Max."

Clearing my throat, I waved her off. "Nothing. Don't listen to those two," I gestured at the guys, who were still giggling like idiots. "They're just being stupid teenage boys."

Nudge nodded knowingly.

"On a more _serious _note," I said, shooting daggers at Iggy and Fang, "We do need to talk. About what happened last night."

It went dead quiet. Isn't it funny how a simple sentence like that can shut everyone up?

. . .

I bit my lip. I had expected the Flock to be a little less… I don't know, _uptight_ about this whole situation. But Nudge's eyes went wide, Iggy's knuckles were white as he grasped Gazzy's shoulder, and Angel looked on the verge of tears. Again.

Dam_mit._

"Relax, guys. I just want to have a chat. About-"

"About _what_, Max?"

Whoa. My head whipped around to face the Gasman, whose arms were folded and eyes narrowed.

"Gazzy, I-"

"About how you _always_ make decisions for yourself, not thinking about the rest of the Flock? About how last night, you did the same exact thing you always do? About how you never ask for our opinions, you just jump right ahead and do what you think is bestest?" I winced at his grammar. _He was only a little kid…_

"Well here's a newsflash for, _Max._ What you think is good isn't always what's good for the rest of us! Won't you ever get that?"

I reached out to touch his shoulder, but he recoiled with a pout on his face. My stomach dropped. This was the _Gasman._ My little trouper! He had always stuck with me, no matter what, and now he… he…

"Gazzy, sweetie. If this is about your parents, listen. We can always –"

"_If_ this is about my parents? _If? _Tell me, Max, what would you do if you found your parents, finally had a chance to meet them… to see them after _eight years_, and then someone ripped them away from you, just because they felt like it?"

Taking a deep breath, I said softly, "I would stick with my Flock. With my _real_ family."

"Well I wouldn't."

And with that, he took a running start, unfurled his wings, and leaped off the edge of the cave.

. . .

Nudge made a strangled noise and clapped her hand to her mouth. Iggy slumped down against the wall of the cave. Fang closed his eyes, slowly breathing in and out, trying to stay calm. Angel rolled up into a tiny little ball, shaking her head and whispering, "No… no, this can't be happening…"

Personally, I felt as if I was going to retch. Gazzy. _Gone._ Quite frankly, the idea was unfathomable.

We sat in stony silence for what felt like eternity. None of us got up. None of us went after him.

The thought made me sick to my stomach.

After awhile, Fang nodded his head towards the sky, motioning for me to come out with him. I tapped Iggy on the back of the hand twice, letting him know that he was in charge until I was back. With that, I grabbed Fang's hand and together we flew out of the cave, our footsteps echoing behind us.

. . .

I had thought that it would be awkward trying to mend things up with Fang. But as we sat on branch of a tall tree, miles away from the cave, with his arms wrapped tightly around my body and my head on his chest, it wasn't awkward at all. Because this time, we were going through the same pain together.

I didn't shed a single tear, surprising myself. I had thought that this would be a weepy occasion. But this – this was to incredibly sad for tears. Fang stroked my hair, and I closed my eyes, loving just being there with him, not having to worry about the pressure of our relationship. But every time I slowly began to relax, a fresh wave of pain hit me, rocking my very senses.

Gazzy was gone.

A long time, probably hours later, I asked Fang the question that had been burning in my mind ever since Gazzy had unfurled his wings.

"Should we go after him?"

Fang's answer was so quiet that I barely even made it out.

"No."

**Oooh… DRAMA! Hehe, sorry. Just getting excited, that's all… XD**

**A super long AN today…**

**Again, I can't thank you guys enough for reviewing. Kudos to TweetieSweetie101, Lonestarwolfrox624, and Fanglover18… for reviewing every. Single. Freaking. Chapter. You guys are amazing.**

**This update is for Booklover711's Project PULL (see my profile for a link, if you're interested). From now on, I will be updating every other Friday, as part of the challenge. **

**Hey, if you guys are looking for another MR Fanfic to read, I highly recommend Unforeseen Origins, by Kae Jennings, which I am betaing for. The author has some amazing talent… seriously. And she is an amazing person. Go read her story. XD**


	18. Suppose

**And… it's Friday! And what does that mean? … Time for my Project Pull update!**

**Heheh.**

**Enjoy the chapter…**

Chapter 18: Suppose

Phillip Harmon tapped his foot in impatience, absentmindedly biting his nails. It was a nervous habit of his. One that seemed to bother him a lot lately. _Gee, I wonder why? _He thought to himself. It wasn't like Dr. Castillo had been working him to the bone for the past two months… no, _nothing_ like that.

He frowned. Being second-in-command did have its benefits. He was first to know about anything and everything that went on in Headquarters. Dr. Castillo confided in him, sometimes more than she did with her own husband. And best of all – the _salary_. Oh, the beautiful salary. Every time Phillip Harmon looked at his paycheck, he couldn't help but smile. Oh yes, he did love the salary.

But there were also some negatives to having this much power – number one being the _work_. Dr. Castillo had promised him light hours and a minimal amount of research to be done, but the work that Phillip Harmon was doing was just about as far from that statement one could get. He arrived at work every morning at six o'clock sharp, and was in the lab until approximately half past seven every night, with a forty-five minute lunch break at noon. And that didn't even include the never ending hours he spent on his laptop at home, poring over countless sites on genetics and altering DNA. Luckily, though, he didn't have to spend much time actually experimenting on the subjects in the lab. His main job was research. And for this he was glad. He simply could not imagine harming those poor, delicate little creatures…

As if. He was used to the experiments that went on at Headquarters. In a way, they didn't even bother him anymore. Was he still grossed out by them? Yes. Was he still morally opposed to experimenting on human children? No. After all, it was all going to a good cause.

At that moment, his thoughts were interrupted as Dr. Castillo breezed into the room. With soft cheekbones, a slender figure, and blonde hair pinned up into a flyaway bun, Phillip Harmon could have found her attractive, even sexy. But the cold gleam in those gray eyes gave her a rather malicious look.

Today, her eyes looked especially malicious. She stormed into the room, her hands literally shaking with rage. Phillip Harmon took a few slow steps backwards, trying to get out of her range of fire.

"She. Said. No. That little bitch and her Flock of bitchy mutant freaks turned me down." Dr. Castillo looked almost mad, her nostrils flaring and her jaw twitching. "Damn them. Damn those… those…"

Phillip Harmon tried to pat her arm, but she jerked away. "Don't touch me, asshole!"

"Right… ah, I'll just be going now…" Phillip said delicately, backing towards the door.

Dr. Castillo took a sudden shaky breath. "I'm sorry," she breathed. "I'm just a little… stressed, you know?"

Oh yes, Phillip Harmon knew.

She took a few more deep breaths, and slumped against the chair. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to move on. Scientists always have a Plan B." Phillip nodded knowingly.

"Get me a coffee," Dr. Castillo snapped suddenly. Phillip rose from his chair, walked towards the coffee maker, and robotically prepared Dr. Castillo's usual – black coffee, no milk, no sugar. He poured it into a mug and handed it to the doctor.

"Thanks," she said wearily. A few awkward moments passed, Dr. Castillo sipping her coffee and Phillip Harmon biting his nails.

After what seemed like eternity, the doctor's eyes snapped into focus. "Okay. So here's the plan."

Phillip Harmon leaned forward eagerly.

"Subjects 1-6 rejected my offer, as you know. I really don't care to go into any further detail. But I do know that the reason Subject One rejected my offer was to protect her Flock. I don't have the slightest clue why, but I know that that is the reason behind her twisted logic. And we need to use her… _love_" Dr. Castillo said the word with contempt, "of her Flock to our advantage."

Phillip knitted his eyebrows together. He often found it difficult to follow the doctor's train of thought.

"So we blackmail her."

"Ah," Phillip said.

"The weapons are ready. All we need to do is blackmail her. When she doesn't respond to us, and she is soon attacked, she'll know _exactly_ why. And just like that, she'll come straight to us."

Phillip waited a few minutes, but when Dr. Castillo didn't continue, he asked tentatively, "And then what?"

Dr. Castillo gave a wary glance toward the security camera in the corner of the room, and with a sly grin, leaned in towards Phillip. As she whispered into his ear, he smiled slowly.

"I see."

. . .

At 7:30 PM, Phillip Harmon gathered his coat and his briefcase and walked briskly out the front door of the Headquarters. Revving the engine of his shiny Mercedes Benz, he snaked his way through the busy streets of Manhattan towards his home. He pulled into the driveway, grabbed his things, and went inside. There, his wife was stirring some delicious smelling food over the stove, while watching the local news.

"Hey, babe," he said, walking up to her and winding his arm around her waist. She smiled up at him and pecked his cheek.

"How was work, honey?"

"Eh, fine. Had a nice meeting with my boss."

"That's good," she turned back towards the television. A news reporter flashed on the screen, reporting the latest Manhattan news.

"Sad, isn't it?" Phillip Harmon's wife murmured as the reporter talked about a couple kids that had disappeared from school the other day. "All this crime… it's just so sad."

Phillip nodded serenely, then headed off with a quick, "I'm going to go change."

He walked toward his room, thinking about the news story he had just heard.

A smile spread slowly across his face.

**. . .**

**And this week's shout out goes to… ! Thanks for the reviews! XD**


	19. Look

**For the Gazzy lovers… enjoy.**

**Update is for BookLover711's Project Pull. See her profile (or mine, for a link to hers) for details.**

Chapter 19: Look

The Gasman scraped his sneakers across the cracks in the pavement, his toes poking through a rather large hole. He had just landed from a three hour flight, and it was probably around noon. He was lost.

This place was unfamiliar to him. He guessed it was probably a really popular city, from the hundreds of people buzzing up and down the street, in and out of shops. But despite all of the people, he felt incredibly lonely. Every once in awhile, he would raise his head, give a tentative smile to a stranger, but he didn't receive an acknowledgement in return. The strangers didn't even bother to give him their usual disgusted look at his torn clothes and grungy hair. It was almost as if they saw right through him.

Well, they certainly weren't the only ones, Gazzy thought bitterly. Max had acted like he was invisible for the past… he didn't even know how long. He just knew it had been a very, _very _long time.

Maybe it had started when they went on the cruise. Maybe it was even before that. But Max had always been very self-sufficient. The Gasman knew that she loved the Flock, but she didn't always know what was best for them. Most of the time, she just made decisions based on what _she_ thought was right.

And up until now, that really hadn't been an issue. Sometimes Max screwed up, and Gazzy understood that. But by ripping him away from his mom, she had gone too far.

The Gasman's throat got all tight, like there was a sock stuck inside it. This just made him feel even worse. It reminded him of that time when he and Max and the rest of the Flock were living at the E-shaped house. Jeb had been gone for ages, and although they all knew that he was probably dead, they chose to ignore the fact. Like that made it any easier.

Max had gotten up that morning, dressed in her usual t-shirt and ripped jeans, and was helping Iggy set the table for breakfast. But for some reason, Nudge and Angel decided that very day that they had had enough of Max's lack of fashion.

As they came downstairs, Max continued helping Iggy, not even noticing that something strange was about to happen. Nudge was dragging behind her a large, flowery cosmetic bag and Angel had an assortment of hair ties, makeup, curling irons, and lip gloss piled up in her arms. They silently snuck into the kitchen, and Angel dropped her stuff with a thud on the table. Max's head snapped up, just as Nudge wrapped a blindfold around her eyes and Angel cuffed her hands with a pair of Gazzy's toy handcuffs. Max flailed and tried to wriggle out of their grasp, but Nudge had already tied her arms to the chair and was proceeding to fasten her legs. Angel gagged her with a sock.

It was almost a comical site, seeing Max, who always loved being in control, blinded, muted, and tied down. She thrashed violently at the rope, muttering curse words that were muffled by the sock in her mouth, but the girls' method was fool-proof. She couldn't escape.

After Max had finally quieted down, Angel spoke softly to her. 

"Now, Max. We've decided that we've had enough of your fashion sense, or lack thereof. So," she said, getting right to the point, "we've decided to give you a makeover."

. . .

Gazzy had expected Max to scream. He had expected her to fight against the ropes that held her down. He had at least expected her to have some sort of horrified reaction.

But he was wrong. Max took awhile to register Angel's words, but as she did, she sort of slumped down in the chair and was silent. Angel looked at Nudge in alarm, but Nudge waved her off. "Max is fine. She'll recover from her shock eventually. And by then, we'll nearly be done."

The sisters grinned mischievously, looking rather like Iggy and Gazzy, but they were holding nail polish and mascara instead of explosive devices.

"Now, I was thinking about what to do with her," Nudge continued on. "I mean, we could choose a lot of different routes. She could be preppy. Tomboy. Casual. Dressy. Skateboarder. Sexy."

"What's sexy?" Gazzy piped up.

"Nothing you need to know," Angel frowned at him. The Gasman grumbled. He hated when his younger sister knew more than he did.

"But I don't know, I was thinking something simpler. Pretty. You know what I mean?"

Angel nodded, although Gazzy was pretty sure she had no idea what Nudge meant.

"Well, then. Let's get started."

. . .

Fang turned up the dial on the radio, to drown out the shouts of Max and Nudge.

Honestly, he really didn't want to know what was going on down there.

Paramore was blasting from the radio, and Fang lay back on his bed and closed his eyes. Hayley Williams' voice rose over the sound of the guitars in the background. Damn, was she hot.

And speaking of hotness…

Max.

Damn. She was even hotter.

She was like… the freaking _queen _of hotness.

The definition of hotness.

Hotness on legs.

Damn.

Fang sighed.

Life sucks, sometimes.

. . .

An hour later, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were still in the kitchen, Max remaining a hostage. Iggy had left awhile ago, out of pure boredom, Gazzy guessed, but he himself didn't want to leave. He had never seen a girl getting made over before. Actually, it was quite interesting.

The Gasman mentally slapped himself. It was no good to have thoughts like that, especially with a mind reader in the room.

Angel smirked at him, and he narrowed his eyes.

Minutes passed by, Gazzy watching, entranced, as Nudge and Angel performed magic. Max was still blindfolded, and had no idea what sight she would face the moment she looked in the mirror.

After what seemed like ages, Nudge wiped her hands on her skirt, stepped back, and admired her handiwork. Angel stood next to her, nodding her head in approval.

"I think we're done."

. . .

Fang's stomach rumbled loudly, and he looked at the clock. 7:30. Over two hours had passed, with him sitting here wasting time. And, dang, was he hungry.

He snapped off the radio, and rushed down the stairs, hoping to find some leftovers in the fridge.

But instead, he was met with a sight that he thought he would never live to see.

. . .

As Nudge was untying Max's hands and removing her blindfold, they heard the sound of feet pounding down the stairs. Fang skidded to a halt on the floor, and had to catch himself with the railing.

Max blinked in the bright light, after being blindfolded for so long, and raised her eyes to meet Fang's.

Fang's eyes widened. And widened. Until Gazzy thought they just might pop right out of his head.

Fang made a strangled noise, and stumbled out the back door.

. . .

Max reached out, tried to wrench herself from Nudge's grasp and go after Fang, but Nudge held on.

"Nudge! Let me go, dammit!"

"No, Max. Fang is fine. He's just a little stunned right now. I don't think you understand why."

Nudge led Max by the arm into the bathroom, and flipped on the light.

Max fell to her knees.

"My… m-my… MY HAIR! MY FACE! MY CLOTHES!" She lunged at Nudge. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BODY? NO WONDER FANG WAS HORRIFIED!"

Nudge dodged Max, almost running into Angel, who was holding onto the door frame, laughing.

"This. Is. Not. Funny. I honestly cannot believe you two. Look what you've done!"

Angel regained her composure, and gave Max a tentative smile.

"Max. You look beautiful. And Fang wasn't horrified. He actually – he actually thought you were… _hot._"

Max's eyes widened, and she let out a small "Oh." And with that, she turned around, and ran up to her room.

. . .

Later that night, Gazzy found Max staring into the bathroom mirror, touching her newly styled hair in wonder.

"Gazzy… do you think I'm... hot?"

The Gasman stared at her, incredulous.

Sometimes, girls could be so stupid.

. . .

The Gasman opened his eyes in a daze. He hadn't been asleep, but he'd been caught up in that memory of life in the E-Shaped house. Life when Max hadn't been so stressed. Life when they'd all been happy.

And at that moment, remembering Max, tied to a chair with a sock stuffed in her mouth, Nudge and Angel attacking her with makeup and nail polish, the Gasman knew he had to go back to the Flock.

Because, although they could all be idiots, he loved his Flock.

**Wow… that flashback turned out to be really, **_**really,**_** long. I don't really know if I like it or not. Hmm.**

**And sorry about the Paramore reference. Honestly, I couldn't resist.**


	20. Out

**I spent this past weekend reading over my entire story, and making a crazy amount of revisions. Since I've started writing this, I haven't actually read through the whole thing from the beginning… and let's just say that I'm very glad I did :P. I actually ended up deleting one my very first chapters. It was too whiny, too faxy (oh my goodness, did I really just say that?), and it was just blah. It took me forever to fix all the names of each chapter, yada yada yada, but it's finally done. Thank goodness.**

**Well, with that said and done, off we go.**

Chapter 20: Out

Things have been… dull lately.

Honestly, that's really the only word I can think of to describe the past few days.

Dull.

I hate it. All this dullness.

I hate how Iggy has slowly retreated inside himself, how he's shutting all of us out. I hate how Angel cries herself to sleep every night. I hate how Fang is even moodier than normal. I hate how Nudge's constant drone of chatter has come to a screeching halt.

But you know what I hate the most?

I hate that I can't say what I hate about what Gazzy is doing right now, because he's not freaking here.

Did that make any sense?

Didn't think so.

Never mind.

. . .

One night, Fang asked me out.

Well, I guess I wouldn't technically call it asking me out. It went more like this:

"Max?"

"Mmphf?"

"We're going out to dinner tonight."

"Right. Whatever."

So what if I'm not the most talented flirt in the world?

. . .

Fang took me to the Jitterbug Café.

Yeah.

Well, if the name doesn't give you enough of a clue as to how that "date" was going to go, I don't know what will. Honestly. The _Jitterbug_? All I think of when I hear that name is that chunky cell phone with the big number keys, and Bristol Palin on Dancing with the Stars. Which is clearly not what the owners were intending.

It's some dinky little coffee shop downtown, with big red booths and black and white photos on the walls. A record machine stands in one corner, and some girl with pigtails and a gap in her front teeth is begging her mom to let her choose a song.

Our server is a guy with a cool accent that I can't quite place. He's got an earring in one ear, spiky pink hair, and a peace sign shaved into the back of his head. It reminds me of when the Flock got a makeover when we were trying to avoid being captured by the school. Gazzy had wanted to get _Bite Me_ shaved on his head…

The thought makes my eyes feel prickly.

I turn my attention back to the server, who has apparently been asking what I would like for quite awhile now. He's got an annoyed look in his eyes, but I just wave it off.

"Aah… I'll have a Grande Caramel Latte Cappuccino. Actually, make that two. And one of those scones. And two slices of the carrot cake. And maybe some whipped cream, with that cappuccino?"

The guy just shakes his head in disbelief, his eyes wide, but wisely keeps his mouth shut.

Fang orders next.

"A large black coffee. Two blueberry bagels, with cream cheese. A chocolate chunk cookie, and an oatmeal raisin cookie. And… how about a biscotti?"

As the server walks away, I turn to Fang. "Do you even know what a biscotti is?"

He shakes his head, and I laugh.

But suddenly, the mood turns serious.

"Fang… why are we here?"

He just stares at me with those hot, dark eyes, and I momentarily lose my train of thought.

"I mean, what are we playing at? You and I both know this won't work out."

He waits a couple moments before speaking.

"Why won't it, Max? Why won't it work out?"

I stare at my hands folded in my lap. Fang suddenly seems to break out of his reverie.

"Let's just… not talk about this, okay? When I said I was taking you out tonight, I didn't mean it as a date or anything. I just knew we both needed to get away for a bit."

I tried not to be too disappointed at his last statement.

We sat in awkward silence for a few moments. Finally, I spoke again.

"Well, then. What next?"

"Mm?"

"I mean, what are we going to do next? We're wasting time. We should be saving the world, doing research, I don't know…"

"What about going back on the cruise? I know the one we were on is over by now, but I'm sure the kids would really like a real vacation, one that isn't interrupted by spontaneous Eraser attacks."

I couldn't help but notice that he said "kids", not "the Flock". Because "the Flock" implied Gazzy. And Gazzy was a subject that we were both treading carefully around, being mindful not to lose our balance and take the impact of the hard reality.

"I don't know about going back on the cruise. It… I don't know. So much has happened. It would just feel wrong, you know, to go back and pretend everything is normal."

He nodded, but I noted the way the corners of his eyes tightened when I said "normal".

Normal.

Are our lives ever normal?

. . .

A few minutes later, our server brought our food. Actually, he was accompanied by another frazzled server who looked like she was carrying food for a full army.

What can I say? We're growing teenagers.

Growing mutant birdkid hybrid freak teenagers.

Same difference.

"How's your Caramel Latte?" Fang asked mildly, after a few minutes.

"Decent. And how's your… ugh. How can you drink that stuff?" I replied, looking in disgust at the black coffee he was slowly sipping.

"Lots of caffeine. Keeps me going."

"Ah."

Awhile later, a few employees dragged speakers up to the front of the café. I looked at Fang in question, but he just shook his head. He didn't know what they were doing, either.

A guy and girl in their mid-twenties carried stools over to the makeshift stage and sat down. Our server handed them a microphone, and the guy nodded in thanks.

"Hey, everyone. Lovely night out, isn't it?"

There were a few half-hearted whoops from the diners.

The guy smiled good-naturedly. "Well, my friend Amy and I are going to perform a couple songs for you guys here, does that sound good?"

I expected them to whip out their electric guitars and drum sets and perform some crazy crap that I didn't really want to listen to, but instead, they both pulled out good old acoustic guitars.

The guy lifted the microphone to his lips.

_Do you hear me? I'm talking to you  
Across the water, across the deep blue ocean  
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying_

The girl called Amy sang back to him.

_Boy I hear you in my dreams  
I feel your whisper across the sea  
I keep you with me in my heart  
You make it easier when life gets hard_

I unconsciously scooted closer to Fang on the booth.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
Lucky to have been where I have been  
Lucky to be coming home again  
Ooh ooh ooh_

Fang slid his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned back, closing my eyes.

_They don't know how long it takes  
Waiting for a love like this  
Every time we say goodbye  
I wish we had one more kiss  
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will_

A tear slid down my cheek. I turned my head into Fang's chest, hoping he wouldn't notice. He did. He lifted my chin up with two fingers and brushed the tear away._  
_  
_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
Lucky to have been where I have been  
Lucky to be coming home again_

The rest of the song faded out as I sat there in Fang's arms, my eyes closed, simply enjoying being there with him. The fact that Gazzy was gone still pressed down on my heart, a heavy pressure that wouldn't go away, but being with Fang helped ease that pressure. He lifted some of the pressure off my chest, helped share the weight, and yet did it with a smile on his face.

_Lucky we're in love in every way  
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed  
Lucky to be coming home someday_

I smiled up at the ceiling, wishing time would freeze and that we could stay like this forever.

**The song used in this chapter was **_**Lucky**_**, by Jason Mraz, feat. Colbie Caillat. It's a beautiful song that isn't nearly as popular as it deserves to be. **

**This was posted for Bookaholic711's Project Pull.**

**Oh - and one thing that paramoll and TweetieSweetie101 just reminded me of - since I changed around the chapters this week, and ended up deleting one, if you reviewed my "chapter 20" last time (which is chapter 19 now, since I deleted a chapter), FFnet won't let you THIS chapter 20, because apparently, your not allowed to review the same chapter twice. So (and this is only if you reviewed the old chapter 20 and aren't able to review the new chapter 20) if you still want to review, you have three options. 1)Review a previous chapter that you haven't reviewed before, (but make sure you let me know the review is for chapter 20). 2)Log out and review as an anonymous reviewer (just sign your name so I know that it's you). 3) Just send me a PM.**

**Sorry if that did not make any sense - I tried to explain it the best I could, but it was a bit difficult :). In a nutshell, if you did NOT review my past chapter 20 that I posted two weeks ago, you have nothing to worry about. Otherwise, see the above paragraph.**


	21. Searching

**I. Want. To. Read. Harry. Potter.**

_**Ugh**_**. I just saw the movie, and it was SO amazing, and now I reaaaaally want to reread the books… but **_**no.**_

**I'm forcing myself to wait until after my huge English test, so that I'm not distracted and have time to study.**

**Why? Why do I torture myself like this?**

**Chapter 21: Searching**

"DARN IT!" Gazzy cried in frustration, throwing the map to the ground with a look of disgust. He had been searching for what felt like hours, but he still hadn't found _any_ caves on this stupid map. How hard would it be to find the Flock's cave, when it could be anywhere in the entire stinking country? He wanted to kill whoever made the maps here. Honestly. They couldn't even draw in the spots where mass Eraser attacks usually occurred? People were in _danger, _Gazzy thought in irritation. Erasers are everywhere these days. Come _on_, mapmakers. Get with the times!

Someone must have noticed an eight year old boy muttering furiously to inanimate objects and looking like he wanted to throttle somebody, because suddenly a hush went over the people around him, and a few small children pointed fingers.

The Gasman figured that it was time to go… right about _now_.

. . .

Gazzy booked it out of there, and once he was safe in a cluster of tall trees, he untied his windbreaker and shook out his wings. Taking a few brisk steps, he shot off the ground and above the trees.

He had to resist the urge to let out a huge sigh. It felt so good to be up in the air, free as a bird.

Oh, wait.

He was a bird.

Well, 2% bird.

Close enough.

Sometimes, Gazzy wished he never had to come down from the sky. When he was this high up, soaring amongst the clouds… well, it was one of the few places where the Gasman felt like he belonged. Actually, it was probably the only place. Down on earth, he always felt awkward and clumsy. Usually, either _everyone_ was staring at him, or he was practically invisible. He never felt as if he fit in.

But of course, all good things have to end sometime.

And this time, Gazzy was really craving a corn dog.

And thus, the goodness of flying ended. Only this time, what the Gasman didn't know was that he wouldn't be flying again for a very long time.

. . .

_Chuck's Really Really Super Awesome Corn Dogs _was right around the corner from where Gazzy landed. At the sight of the giant sign with a picture of a stalk of corn and a stubby orange dog with a really long body (what was it that they called dogs like that? Weiner dogs?), the Gasman's stomach gave a rumble. Before entering the restaurant, he fished around in his pockets for some money, and pulled out a few rumpled dollar bills that had been in there for who knows how long.

The Gasman stepped up to the counter, standing on his tiptoes in order to see the waiter. He puffed out his chest, and the waiter smiled kindly.

"What can I get you today, mister?"

Gazzy lowered his voice in an attempt to sound older. "I'll have one plain corndog, and some chocolate milk."

"Is that all for you today?"

Gazzy nodded.

"$4.28."

Gazzy thrust the money towards the waiter, and stood off to the side while he waited for his food.

A few minutes later, the waiter reappeared at the counter with his tray.

"Here you go – " the waiter started, but the Gasman had already grabbed the tray from his hands and ran out the door.

. . .

Gazzy plopped himself down on a park bench and unwrapped his corndog. He savored the taste of the hotdog, but Gazzy wasn't one to simply eat for enjoyment. Cramming bites of the meal into his mouth, he moaned in pleasure. Wow. Max never made corndogs.

He started to get angry, but then reminded himself what the entire purpose of this searching was.

The Gasman would have to ask Max to buy him some corndogs from the store when he saw her again.

. . .

An hour or so later, when Gazzy had finished his corndog and people-watched for awhile, he figured it was probably time to continue his search for the cave. He hopped off the park bench and wandered the sidewalks for awhile until he came across a police station. As the Gasman opened the doors, a bell jingled, and the man at the counter looked up in interest.

"Excuse me, sir. I have a question. Do you know where I could find a cave?"

"A _what?"_

"A cave."

"A cave? Sorry, son. There ain't any caves 'round here. This is the middle of the city. You'd have to go way east before you see any caves."

"East?"

"Yeah." The man smiled kindly, and pointed in the direction of the door. "That way."

"Oh. Thanks." The Gasman started to head out the door, but the policeman caught his arm.

"Wait a second, son. Where are your parents? What are you doing, wandering out alone in the middle of the city?"

"I – uh, I really gotta go-" Gazzy said hastily. When the policeman didn't release his grip, Gazzy wrenched his arm away and ran.

"Wait! Hey! Kid – wait a second!"

The Gasman didn't turn around. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Dang. These policemen didn't give up too easily.

_A forest, a forest, I really need to find a forest where I can take off…_ Gazzy thought to himself. But looking around, he realized that what the policeman said was right. They were in the middle of a huge city. Not too many trees around here.

He could hear the policeman huffing and puffing behind him, but he still sounded pretty far away. Gazzy risked taking a glance behind him to see how much distance he had put between himself and the policeman, but suddenly –

_Thud._

Whipping his head around, Gazzy saw that he had ran right into a tall woman standing outside the doors of a department store.

"I – I'm so sorry – " he started, when he heard the policeman wheeze to a halt behind him.

"Excuse me, miss, I'm really so sorry for the inconvenience, I've been trying to catch this boy, he's without his parents –"

Just then, the woman threw her arms around Gazzy and held him in an iron grip.

"My son! Oh, Mr. Policeman, thank you for returning my son to me! He ran away from home, we've been searching all over for him, and oh! We've missed you so much, Gregory…"

Wait. Gregory? How did this woman know the Gasman's real name?

The policeman grunted in surprise. "Oh! Well, if this is your son, than I'm glad I could be of assistance, miss. Now, young man, don't go running away from home again!"

"_Nod!"_ the woman hissed in Gazzy's ear. He nodded, terrified.

"Thank you again, officer," the woman said. She locked her had around Gazzy and steered him away from the policeman.

. . .

The woman's high heels clicked on the ground, and she dragged Gazzy along behind her, the whole time, not releasing his hand. Gazzy stumbled across the sidewalk, and a few minutes later, they arrived in the empty back parking lot of _Chuck's Really Really Super Awesome Corndogs. _The woman turned around to face Gazzy.

"Now, now, Gregory. It was very naughty of you to leave your mother, wasn't it?"

Was it just his imagination, or were the woman's teeth growing sharper?

. . .

**This was posted for Bookaholic711's Project PULL. Hope you enjoyed. :D**


	22. If

**Hello, internet world. Long time, no see. How ya been?**

Chapter 22: If

Gazzy ran. He ran like hell – there was really no other way to describe it. His feet pounded the ground, he literally flew over the rocks and puddles in the parking lot, and before he knew it, he was speeding down the middle of 31st Street.

Horns blared, and there was a skidding noise, followed by a loud crunch, and Gazzy winced. His heart told him to stop. But he listened to his head, which only told him one word: away. Away from that horrible woman, or should we say _Eraser_.

The minute she had smiled at Gazzy, her fangs enlarged and fur sprouted on her arms and neck. That's when Gazzy knew he had to bust out of there… pronto.

But his valiant run for victory did not last long. In fact, it ended with a bang… or rather, a thump, as the Gasman ran smack into a furry chest of an Eraser.

This, folks, is where we say _Oh, crap._

The Eraser dragged Gazzy into a dark alley with ease, and covered him in a brown bag. In a perfectly normal, risk-free situation, the Gasman would have noted the utter cliché-ness of this situation, but as it was, the Gasman did not even have time to panic. As the bag was brought down over his head, he smelled something sickly sweet, and was out like a light within mere seconds.

. . .

The Gasman woke to a whitecoat's face smiling down at him.

Her smile widened as the Gasman rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Good morning, Gregory."

"Mom?"

. . .

The next few hours went by like a blur. The Gasman remembered being wheeled around a large building on a cot, but this building was different from the School, or any of the other Itex buildings he'd ever been in. Gazzy could not quite put his finger on it. It might have simply been the power that radiated from the building, like a noxious gas. Every whitecoat, every cage, every Itex logo oozed power and control. The Gasman found it rather frightening.

A faceless whitecoat wheeled the Gasman's cot through the building, stopping every once in awhile to examine a test tube, have a brief word with another whitecoat, or check in on some sort of grotesque specimen that Gazzy really didn't care to describe. At one point, they entered a room that looked as if the walls were made of large glass fish tanks. But rather than containing innocent little goldfish, the containers held grotesque abominations of nature. Some disturbing creature that had the head of a cat, with feathers and an alligator tail protruding from its rear… a fetus the size of a full-grown adult with sick mutations… a child with tentacles rather than limbs… the Gasman wanted to retch. And he prided himself in having a _very_ strong stomach.

The thought of seeing his mother constantly nagged on his mind, though. Why was she here? Was _she _the leader of this abject place? Could she help him?

The very last question lingered, although deep down, he truly knew the answer.

No.

His mother could not help him out of this situation.

She was the one who had brought him into it in the first place.

. . .

Finally, Dr. Evelyn Castillo made reappearance.

The Gasman was receiving a lovely tour through rooms full of failed experiments courtesy of the unsmiling whitecoat. Dr. Castillo swept into the room, her bleach-white lab coat billowing behind her.

"Thank you, Gail. You are dismissed," she told the whitecoat, shooing her away with a wave of her hand. The unsmiling whitecoat gave a cursory nod, and hurried out of the room as if one of the horrible creatures in the cage was chasing her.

Dr. Castillo rolled her eyes. "I really do need to get myself some better workers, don't you agree, darling?"

The Gasman narrowed his eyes.

"I need workers that are… what is the word I'm looking for? Committed. Yes. Committed. My scientists and researchers need to be dedicated and committed to their work. But they also need to be willing and enthusiastic, do they not, Gregory?"

Gazzy simply stared at her.

"That is why I brought you here today, Gregory. I need both workers and subjects who are truly dedicated and who have the potential to be great. You are all of these things, and more. You are a human-avian hybrid, a subject that I simply long to do more testing on. You are a hard worker. You are committed to your work. You could do great things, you know. All you have to do is get some connections."

"No."

Dr. Castillo acted as if she didn't even hear him. "My goal is to help you do that. Max and her Flock are holding you back, Gregory. Think of all you could do if you were released from the constant burden of having to deal with Angel's unstableness, Nudge's constant chatter, Iggy's blindness, Fang's emotions, Max's incompetence as a leader. Think of the great leader _you _could be, Gregory. Max is blinded by her love of power. When is the last time she has let you help with making a decision? When is the last time she has asked for your opinion? When is the last time she has listened to you?"

The Gasman racked his brain for an answer to these questions. But he simply could not find one.

"I value your opinion, Gregory. I know that you have the potential to help Itex make huge advances in our studies of genetic engineering. All you have to do is be willing to help."

"No."

"Gregory. You are not thinking this through all the way. You, too, are blinded by your love – your love of the Flock. That love blinds you to everything that is wrong with the Flock and your lifestyle. Do you know that just two weeks ago was Thanksgiving? Do you remember your Thanksgiving with Anne? It was amazing, was it not? And let me guess – you've never had another Thanksgiving like it. That was the only time the Flock has even celebrated Thanksgiving, wasn't it?"

The Gasman gave a tiny nod.

"Help us, and you'll get to live with your father and I. We could be a family. No little sister to worry about, no Max to listen to. Just the three of us. How wonderful would that be?"

Gazzy kept his mouth shut. If she was trying to provoke an answer out of him, she wasn't going to get one.

"Gregory, we need your help. Think about all the good that would come out of it. You would be relieved from the burden of the Flock. You would have the privilege of helping us make great scientific advances. You would have a family. So what's your final decision?"

"No."

The Gasman had expected Dr. Castillo to be angry, but she just shrugged.

"Well, then. Let me show you something that will definitely change your mind."

**Yes, this is short. Yes, it was probably crap. My apologies. Let's just say that it was very, very late when I wrote this.**

**This was posted for Bookaholic711's Project PULL. Check it out.**

**Reviews are always welcomed and loved.**


	23. Wanted

**And we've finally made it! 102 reviews! Thanks so much, guys. Your feedback makes it all worth it.**

**Chapter 23: Wanted**

The Gasman was an obedient child.

So when his horrible, cruel, downright evil mother told him to go to his room and make himself presentable for a surprise celebration, the Gasman did just that.

Well, not quite. He kind of skipped over the "make himself presentable" part. That wasn't really Gazzy's style.

As he walked through the halls towards his room, two erasers flanking his sides, the Gasman spotted a newspaper lying on a table. The headline read _Holiday Shopping: That's a Wrap!_

Gazzy came to a halt. Holiday shopping?

Craning his neck to see the date on the newspaper, the Gasman noted that it was December 24.

December 24…

The Gasman wracked his brain, trying to remember why that date was so special.

After awhile, he figured it out. The deduction was rather difficult, as the Flock never had taken the time to celebrate holidays.

Gazzy smiled. December 24 was Christmas Eve.

. . .

There was a knock on the Gasman's door.

"Yeah?"

"Gregory, darling, it's me. Are you ready yet?" 

"No, mother," Gazzy replied stonily. "Just give me a couple more minutes."

"Sure, sweetheart, but do hurry! I don't want our feast to get cold!"

"Yes, mother."

Gazzy turned back to his work. Wrapping tinfoil around the contraption, he tucked it into a box.

There was just one more thing he needed.

The Gasman rang the service bell that his mother had installed by his bed.

"Yes?"

"I need some wrapping paper. Pronto."

. . .

Turns out room service was not the best here at Itex Headquarters. Twenty minutes later, a frazzled whitecoat rushed into Gazzy's room, gasping for breath.

"Sorry… wrapping paper was hard to come by… had to run all the way to the next town… sorry."

Rolling his eyes, Gazzy took the wrapping paper from the whitecoat's trembling hands. She scurried out of the room.

The Gasman had never been very good at wrapping gifts. Whenever the Flock remembered to celebrate birthdays (a rare occasion), Gazzy made the employees at the gift shop wrap his gifts for him. He simply could not figure out how to make a plain brown box look nice and inviting.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. Gazzy carefully ripped the snowflake patterned paper and folded it around the corners of the box. Using the tape he always carried with him for emergency occasions such as this (he and Iggy never knew when they might need a bomb), Gazzy taped the edges of the wrapping paper together. With a pen, he wrote in scrawling handwriting _To: Mother and Father. Love, Gregory._

This would definitely be interesting.

. . .

Dr. Evelyn Castillo ran her fingers through her tangled hair, trying desperately to work out the knots. After a few hopeless attempts, she sighed in defeat and pulled it up into a tight bun. Pursing her lips, the doctor applied a red lipstick, as well as mascara. She slipped her feet into her high heels, zipped up her dress, and made her way out the door.

As she headed out, Evelyn caught a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror. She stepped up closer. Scrutinizing her form, she tried to remember what it felt like to be truly beautiful. Sure, she was attractive, she admitted. Slender hips, long legs, piercing eyes. But this was only at first glance. Looking closer, the dark bags under her eyes became evident. Her cheekbones protruded sharply, and her face was tight with worry lines.

The doctor smoothed her hand over her hips. Where had all that youthful sexiness gone? Once, she had simply been a bright young woman, one who went to parties and got dressed up and fell in love.

She really could not put her finger on what had changed her. Her husband would probably say that it was simply science.

Well, that was partially true. Without science, Evelyn knew she would be nothing like the woman she was today. However, Evelyn was pretty sure that her greed was what had truly aged her.

She had always been exceptionally bright, but in the past, her longing for knowledge had been satisfied through her schooling. Eventually, though, she grew so intelligent that she could no longer learn from books. She became greedy. She wanted to discover things herself.

And that was what had led to this. This hideous person standing before her. One who was attractive on the outside, but a monster within.

Evelyn could feel tears beginning to leak out of her eyes.

_Snap out of it,_ she told herself. _ You're a scientist. You chose this, remember? You chose science over parties and attractiveness and love. _

_This was your choice._

Dr. Evelyn Castillo turned off the lights and walked briskly out her door.

. . .

Gazzy entered the main hall of Itex headquarters. Looking around, he did a double take. This hall once had been full of microscopes, lab tools, whitecoats, and many different experiments. Now, it had been entirely transformed. Bright wreaths hung on the walls, faceless whitecoats darted around with trays of treats, and a massive Christmas tree stood at the front of the hall.

The Gasman's mother and father sat at the head of one of the long banquet tables. They beckoned to him. Gazzy chose the seat next to his father. He wanted to be as far away from his vile mother as possible without making an outright statement.

"Gregory, darling, so glad you could join us," Gazzy's mother gushed. "Don't you look… dashing!" Her cold eyes scanned the Gasman's dirty jeans and stained Beatles t-shirt. Gazzy grinned.

At that moment, a herd of whitecoats bustled over with a rolling tray, filled with a rich pot roast, green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry bread, cous cous, steamed carrots, and all the other delectable foods Gazzy could possibly imagine.

_So this is what Christmas is like._

Gazzy licked his lips and dug in without hesitation.

. . .

A couple feeble attempts were made at starting conversation.

"How are you enjoying your time here, darling?"

"Just fine."

There would be a brief span of time, maybe two or three minutes, until the Gasman's mother or father tried again.

"Is there anything special you'd like to do while you're staying with us?"

"No."

The Gasman knew that they were stalling time before they asked the big question at the tip of their tongues. Gazzy answered a few more aimless questions, until finally, Dr. Evelyn got to the whole point of this festive Christmas Eve feast.

"So Gregory, dear, have you thought about our offer?"

"Yes."

The Castillos waited for a few minutes, but the Gasman kept stubbornly silent.

"And… has your answer changed?"

"No."

"Ah, I see. Well, I don't know if you've already thought of this, but there would be some benefits to –"

The Gasman abruptly jumped out of his seat, nearly knocking over his goblet of apple cider.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

The Castillos looked at their son in confusion.

"There is something I want to give to you. May I be excused to retrieve it from my room?"

"Ah, well, sure – I guess you – "

At that, Gazzy took off in a sprint towards his room.

. . .

Minutes later, the Gasman flew into the banquet hall with a crudely wrapped package in his hands.

"Mother, Father, I got this gift for you. It has been so wonderful staying with you, and I just wanted to show my appreciation."

The Gasman layed it on thick as Dr. Castillo unwrapped the gift.

"Oh, how lovely darling, what exactly is –"

The doctor's words were cut off with a bout of coughing as a noxious gas filled up the room, clouding their vision.

The Castillo's cried out. "What, what is – what is this – Gregory, dear, where are you?" 

The Gasman took a moment to revel in the success of his stink bomb. Then, he took off at a run out of the banquet hall and out the front doors of Itex Headquarters, alarms blaring behind him.


	24. Yet

**Chapter 24: Yet**

Remember that mushy gushy night with me and Fang in the café drinking gross coffee from dainty little mugs on dainty little saucers?

Remember that dopey love song that was playing?

Remember how I wanted to make that one moment last forever?

Time for a reality check:

I am Maximum Ride. I am a flying mutant birdkid with screwed up DNA and a screwed up childhood and a screwed up life.

In other words, no such luck for yours truly.

Fang and I headed home that night, flying above the bright city lights, acting like nothing had happened, like nothing had changed.

Well, here is a newsflash for those of you too forgetful to remember or too lazy to look back a few chapters: a _lot_ had changed. Well, at least I thought it had.

Apparently, Mr. Tall Dark and Silent did not agree.

_Damn _it. I was so close… and yet so far. And now I sound like the Olsen twins. I am officially an idiot.

We coasted towards yet another cave where the Flock, minus one, had chosen to bunk for the next few days. Nudge had set up a pink sleeping bag (goodness knows where she found that) in one corner, while Iggy chose to brood in another, his headphones constantly in his ears and his fingers tapping on the hard floor. Angel had arranged the contents of her backpack in a neat little circle around her, her head resting on an old towel. Fang and I generally took turns keeping watch near the edge of the cave, recruiting Iggy every once in awhile. There was an empty spot near the back of the cave, right next to Angel's spot, reserved for the current AWOL member of the Flock in some sort of unspoken agreement.

This was usually how nights were spent at Birdkid Central, whichever cave that might be at the time. So when Fang and I skidded towards a stop at the edge of the cave, we were surprised, to say the least, at the variation in this common routine.

Our three flashlights that we only used for keeping watch were all on, and there were hushed voices coming from the back of the cave. As Fang and I entered, our footsteps slapping loudly on the rock, the voices halted abruptly.

"Hey, guys…" Nudge drew out the words as we came face-to-face, obviously covering something up.

I cut straight to the chase with basic word choice.

"What is going on?"

"Nothing much," Angel said, grinning. "How was your date?"

I narrowed my eyes, while Fang stood there impassively. "Number one: it was not a date. Number two: no more games. Tell me what is going on now before I choke it out of you."

Angel rolled her eyes, used to my empty threats.

"I think there is someone here who you might want to see," Nudge said suggestively, stepping aside to reveal a small figure.

"Oh, my goodness."

I ran forward and threw my arms around the Gasman.

. . .

He clung to me, his small body shaking.

"Max… I'm so sorry, I didn't think, I was just so mad, and then she found me –" he broke off, sobs shuddering through him.

"Oh, Gazzy." I smoothed his hair and held him to me. "It's okay. You're safe now. You're home."

He gradually calmed down, and I pulled him into my lap, Angel right at my side, rubbing the Gasman's back.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you are too tired," I started, but he cut me off, words spilling out of his mouth at a Nudge-worthy speed.

"As soon as I landed, I was guilty, I tried to find you. I got a map and everything, but I could not find our cave. So I went and asked a police officer, but he didn't help me, instead, he chased me when I ran away, and I ran straight into – into… into an Eraser. It was a girl, and she captured me and took me to Itex headquarters.

"My mother and father were there. They asked me to let them do tests. I said no. They told me all sorts of bad stuff about the Flock, but I didn't believe them… didn't want to believe them… and I was there for a really long time. Time seemed to pass slowly, like I was under some sort of drug or something.

But then, for some reason, one day I snapped out of it. When we went to the Christmas feast, I wrapped up a stink bomb in Christmas wrapping paper, and it triggered when they opened it. A bunch of gas clouded the room. I escaped, and found Nudge when she was out flying with the hawks. And she brought me back here. And now I'm home."

He buried his head into my shoulder.

"Gazzy, oh, I'm so sorry that all this happened to you. I really am," I said, and I meant it. The poor kid was only eight years old, and he had just been reunited with his parents, only to lose them forever.

I could hardly imagine it, and I've been through a lot.

"Wow," Iggy said, shaking his head in awe. The rest of us raised our eyebrows in question.

"I mean… to escape from some high-tech, security loaded, mega-million business's headquarters… that must have been one mean stink bomb."

The Gasman giggled, and I smiled down at him.

Man, was it good to be together again.

. . .

We crashed early that night, Nudge hunkering down in her sleeping bag. Gazzy curled up in his reserved spot, and Angel gradually scooted closer to him, until they were holding hands in their sleep, their heads bent towards each other. I smiled. Poor Angel – she had really missed her little brother.

I went to work tidying up the cave, figuring that we probably had best be out of here by tomorrow afternoon. As I picked up Gazzy's backpack, a white envelope fell to the ground. I picked it up and flipped it over, reading the front.

MAXIMUM RIDE

Uh-oh. Letters addressed to me usually meant bad news.

I ripped open the seal, and unfolded the white sheet of copy paper inside, my eyes gradually widening as I read the bold print.

TO MAXIMUM RIDE:

ON BEHALF OF ITEX, THIS LETTER IS INFORMING YOU THAT IF YOU DO NOT TURN YOURSELF IN FOR TESTING AT OUR HEADQUARTERS, WE WILL ENSURE THAT SOME OF OUR NEWEST CREATIONS, SPECIFICALLY ENGI NEERED TO TERMINATE YOUR FLOCK, WILL BE SENT TO YOUR LOCATION ON

1-15-08

YES, MAXIMUM, THIS IS CONSIDERED BLACKMAIL.

YOU HAVE EXACTLY 20 DAYS TO MAKE YOUR DECISION. IF YOU DO NOT PRESENT YOURSELF AT ITEX HEADQUARTERS IN THIS TIME, THESE MACHINES WILL BE SENT TO TERMINATE YOUR FLOCK. AND YES, THEY WILL SUCCEED.

DO NOT FAIL US, MAXIMUM RIDE.

ITEX

I groaned, staring at the letter in my hands.

Say it with me now, folks: _Oh, crap._

**Posted for Bookaholic711's Project PULL. **

**RnR?**


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